Double Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones has revealed her arrival in professional boxing with a impressive second-round knockout victory. The Welsh athlete, who claimed Olympic gold medals in London 2012 and the 2016 Rio Olympics, defeated Egypt Criss in her boxing debut at Misfits Duel 2 in Derby. Jones needed just two rounds to achieve victory, defeating her opponent with three successive left hooks. The 32-year-old competitor from Flint made the daring transition from taekwondo after two decades in the sport, setting herself an ambitious target of achieving world champion status in two different disciplines. Her first fight marks the beginning of an remarkable new phase in her sporting career.
From Taekwondo Excellence to Boxing Triumph
Jade Jones’ transition from taekwondo to boxing showcases one of sport’s most compelling career pivots. After investing two decades perfecting her craft in taekwondo and attaining the sport’s pinnacle with back-to-back Olympic gold medals, the Welsh champion determined she needed a fresh challenge. At 32 years old, Jones made the courageous decision to swap her taekwondo gloves for boxing ones at the start of last year, launching into a completely new professional journey in a sport where she had no earlier competitive experience.
Jones has built a team with expert guidance to accelerate her development in the sport of boxing. Learning from ex-pro boxer Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith at the renowned 4 Corners Gym, she has received top-tier training. Additionally, Jones looks up to her ex-training partner Lauren Price, a unified world boxing champion who successfully navigated her own multi-sport career before committing fully to professional boxing. Price’s example of competing at the highest levels in multiple combat sports and football before finding ultimate success in boxing has given Jones a roadmap to her lofty aspirations.
- Gold medals at the Olympics earned in London 2012 and Rio 2016
- Working out at Liverpool’s iconic 4 Corners Gym with Swifty Smith
- Motivated by unified champion Lauren Price’s success across multiple sports
- Ambitious target of becoming world champion in two sports
A Impressive Performance in the Ring
Jade Jones’ boxing debut at Misfits Duel 2 in Derby proved to be a striking display of ambition. Facing Egypt Criss, daughter of hip-hop icons Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss from Naughty by Nature and Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton from Salt-N-Pepa, Jones displayed the devastating force and tactical expertise that marked her taekwondo career. The Welsh champion’s performance suggested that her shift to boxing would not be merely ceremonial but authentically challenging, as she dismantled her opponent with clinical efficiency and devastating striking ability.
The bout displayed Jones’ innate physical prowess and her capacity to convert her combat experience into the squared circle. Despite lacking any previous competitive boxing background, she showed the mental toughness and spatial awareness characteristic of a veteran competitor. Her victory was far more than a close decision but rather a dominant display that demonstrated beyond question her status as a credible professional boxer. The quickness and strength of her combinations hinted that her Olympic background would benefit her in this fresh stage of her professional journey.
The Crucial Second Round
The crucial juncture came in the next round when Jones unleashed a powerful sequence of punches that finished the bout. Three back-to-back left hooks overwhelmed Criss, with the final blow dropping her to the mat and compelling the referee to stop the bout. The knockout triumph was emphatic and clinical, highlighting Jones’ capacity to spot and take advantage of her opponent’s vulnerabilities with precision timing. This dramatic conclusion reflected the character of her boxing debut—swift, decisive, and completely dominant.
Jones’ second-round knockout reinforced her lofty aspiration of winning a world title in multiple disciplines. The impressive nature of her debut victory points to that her objective is not just a dream but potentially achievable considering her commitment and elite-level coaching. The speed with which she dispatched Criss revealed that the transition from taekwondo to professional boxing may be easier than many expected, creating the foundation for an compelling path toward championship glory in her adopted sport.
Training and Inspiration Behind the Victory
Jones’ rapid success in the boxing ring did not stem from a vacuum but rather from a meticulously planned training programme under the mentorship of veteran coaches. Since beginning her boxing journey at the start of last year, she has been partnering with former professional boxer Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith at Liverpool’s renowned 4 Corners Gym. This working relationship has been crucial in translating her taekwondo skills into proficient boxing form, allowing her to retain the sharpness and dynamism that marked her Olympic career while acclimating to the specific demands of professional boxing contests.
The choice to pursue boxing represented a deliberate choice to pursue fresh challenges following 20 years of dominance in taekwondo. At 32 years old, Jones demonstrated remarkable courage in abandoning a sport where she had attained the pinnacle of success—Olympic gold medals in both London 2012 and Rio 2016—to begin anew at a beginner’s level in a distinct discipline. Her lofty target of achieving the status of a world champion in two sports gave her the motivation to undertake this significant shift in her career, turning what could have been a retirement into an thrilling new chapter of athletic achievement.
Studying with Professional Boxers
Jones has gained substantial inspiration from unified world boxing champion Lauren Price, who was her previous roommate and shares a comparably varied sporting background. Price’s own path across multiple combat sports—including football for Wales, kickboxing, and taekwondo—before moving into professional boxing provided a compelling blueprint for success. This guidance provided by someone who had already navigated a comparable path proved extremely valuable, offering practical insights and mental support as Jones started her own boxing career with resolve and self-assurance.
- Working out at 4 Corners Gym under coach Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith’s expert guidance
- Receiving guidance from unified world champion Lauren Price’s cross-sport expertise
- Applying 20 years of Olympic taekwondo experience to boxing at the professional level
Lofty Objectives in a New Sport
Jones’ choice to take up boxing came with a notably daring objective: to become a international champion in multiple sports. This challenging objective served as the driving force behind her move out of taekwondo, where she had already attained the discipline’s top accolades. At 32 years old, rather than relying on her Olympic laurels, Jones decided to test herself in an completely different arena, showcasing the competitive spirit that had characterized her lengthy career spanning two decades in taekwondo. Her goal reflects not merely a wish for a new beginning, but a commitment to establish her legacy as one of athletics’ most well-rounded and skilled competitors across various sports.
The route to world championship status in boxing creates a substantially different challenge from her previous achievements. Unlike taekwondo, where Jones had invested years mastering technique and developing proficiency, she enters the boxing world as a relative newcomer competing against fighters with lengthy competitive histories. However, her devastating debut performance—a second-round knockout victory featuring three successive left hooks—suggests she possesses the raw talent and technical foundation necessary to advance quickly through the ranks. If Jones can sustain this path while ongoing development of her boxing skills under expert coaching, her ambitious dual-championship dream may prove significantly more realistic than initially appeared.