Chesterfield boxer Amy Greatorex lost on points to the experienced Lithuanian fighter Vaida Masiokaite in her professional boxing debut at Barnsley Metrodome on December 9.
Greatorex can still take plenty of positives from her professional debut after overcoming numerous obstacles to reach this stage in her career.
The challenges in preparation lead right up to the week of the fight when Amy’s initially scheduled debut opponent pulled out of the fight with just four days to go. Nicaragua’s Wendellin Cruz was meant to be Greatorex’s opponent but Lithuania’s Vaida Masiokaite stepped in as a last minute replacement to pose an even sterner test of Amy’s credentials:
“It was quite difficult; but at that point, I was just wanting to get in that ring and fight. I just tried to push that to the back of my mind. Wendellin Cruz is ranked 102nd in the world and Vaida is ranked 45th in the world. So it was a bit of a jump! Our fight was Vaida’s 27th professional bout and Wendellin has had a lot less than that. So I think if I’d have thought about all that too much, it would have just taken over me. I tried to put it all at the back of my mind. My team still had the same game plan – we didn’t really have time to change anything. We found out on the Monday of fight week that Wendellin had pulled out. It wasn’t until the Wednesday that the fight against Vaida was signed and sealed. So it was quite short notice!”
While obviously gutted with the result, Greatorex was proud of the experience as a whole:
“I’ve still not watched it back, to be fair. In my mind, I can’t actually remember much of what happened…it’s all a blur, basically. We have got points that I need to work on. Vaida’s experience just shone through all the way through the bout…she used all her experience to stop my flow, which is what boxing is all about. She was a lot taller than me. She had a really long reach, so it was quite difficult to get in close to her. It was definitely a tough debut, but I’m proud of it and that’s all that matters.”
Despite the defeat, Amy is now even more motivated to succeed in the sport and is already working on areas of improvement in training and in the gym:
“Definitely. My team are wanting to get me out again in the new year. We’ll work in training on the bits I need to work on. I was going into the unknown for my professional debut. It was the first time I’d ever fought without a headguard. Stepping into that big room with all those people watching too was an unknown for me…but now I know what to expect a bit more. I want to hit 2023 head on and get as many fights as I can next year. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before my next fight.”
2023 is shaping up to be a very busy year for the Derbyshire fighter who goes by the superb boxing nickname of G-Rex. At the age of 36, Amy is well aware that she’s a late starter in the world of professional boxing and she’s very keen to make up for lost time:
“My boxing licence is up for renewal in April, so I’m wanting to get two or three fights in before that date if possible. It is just a case of as many as I can fit in. Like I’ve said before, I’m not young – so I feel like I have to catapult myself into doing as many bouts as I can to get as much experience as I can to go as far as I can. I’ve not got as long as what a young boxer has got. I don’t like having much rest.”
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