DONโT tell Denise Castle what she canโt do.
Donโt tell her she canโt switch sports in her 40s and fight champions. Donโt tell her she canโt train through pregnancy and fight just eight weeks after giving birth. And most definitely donโt tell her she canโt fight at 51.
Because, whatever you think of her doing these things, she will find a way to do them, with or without your blessing.
On August 31, two months before her 52nd birthday, Castle will travel from Bournemouth to Bangkok to fight Japanโs world-rated Sana Hazuki. If she wins, there will be just one item left on her bucket list: to box at home.
Castle, though, is not licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) and, given her age, it is unlikely she ever will be. Still, she has satisfied the requirements of the governing bodies in Thailand, Japan, the Czech Republic and the United Arab Emirates, where she has boxed, as well as the WBC, who have attached a belt to her 10-rounder with Hazuki, and who have twice before approved her as a โworldโ title challenger.
Castleโs entire boxing career has unfolded since she was 42. She was not a latecomer to fighting, though. She moved into boxing after an 18-bout career in muay Thai, having won a WBC โworldโ title in that discipline, which led the sanctioning body to offer her a shot at their boxing equivalent.
This would come against atomweight [102lbs] ruler Momo Koseki in Tokyo in August 2014, following two warm-ups in Bangkok to sharpen her new toolkit.
Castle applied for her British licence, assuming it would be a formality given she was already an experienced combat athlete, had secured a licence with the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC), and had a WBC fight lined up. But it would be the first of three exercises in frustration.
โI had always been interested in boxing, because I favoured my hands in muay Thai,โ says Castle. โBut I couldnโt hold boxing and muay Thai licences at the same time, so I thought Iโd wait until Iโd achieved what I wanted to achieve in muay Thai, and then move over.โ
The WBC title and other belts and accolades, such as a British championship and also being named the WBCโs Most Inspiring Female Athlete in 2013, was enough for Castle to close that chapter. There was also the quirk of conducting a fight camp while heavily pregnant. Even for a woman who likes to do things differently, that was an extreme โ but she insists she knew what she was doing.
โThrough my profession, I could keep my fitness up safely,โ says Castle, who is also a performance coaching coordinator at Bournemouth University and PE teacher at Bournemouth School for Girls. โI knew what things not to do, and how to be smart and adjust.โ
Of course, among the things not to do was sparring. For the ensuing fight, a five-rounder against American Patti Teran in Manchester just 57 days after the August 2006 birth, she said, โI wasnโt lacking in fitness, just ring time, having not sparred for almost a year.โ Castle lost, but she went the distance โ โwas so glad I did itโ โ and, after a more conventional training camp, would win a rematch 13 months later.
Clearly, Castle knows her own body, and believes her British licensing attempts are being unfairly judged. The first time she applied, โeven then, they touched on age,โ she says, โand they asked silly questions, like โyou know boxing is a tough sport; are you ready for it?โ.
โThey wanted me to do a test spar, but the woman they arranged it with was ill on the morning of it. We already had the fight in Tokyo confirmed and the JBC said fine. I couldnโt wait for the test spar to be rearranged, and if I could be licensed through other countries, it would be silly not to go for it.โ
She went for it, but was repelled by Koseki in eight rounds (โShe did win convincingly, but they were close roundsโฆ I thought if thatโs top level, Iโm near thatโ), and thereafter four years of inactivity followed. This was not by choice, simply โnothing came about, but I was always active, sparring, making sure I was only a few weeks away from being ready to fightโ.
Meanwhile, she applied again in 2016 for a British licence, and says she was told โweโve never issued a first licence to a 44-year-oldโ.
She pressed on regardless, and after Koseki retired and vacated the belt, the WBC again offered Castle a shot. She travelled to the Czech Republic in September 2018 to fight local Fabiana Bytyqi.
By now Castle was almost 47, but she satisfied the requirements of the Czech Union of Professional Boxers. Though beaten by a woman 24 years her junior, Castle fancies she could win a rematch โ especially if it was at home. Which brings us, again, to the question of BBBofC licensing, and a third attempt, aged 50, which was, predictably, turned down last year.
Castleโs husband (and coach) Lorne sought an explanation. โI phoned [BBBofC Southern Area secretary] Dennis Gilmartin and he told me Deniseโs age was a significant factor, as well as her inactivity,โ he says. โBut sheโd fought in Dubai just three weeks before and gone to a split decision in a WBC Silver title fight. I said, โSheโs not inactive; she fought three weeks ago,โ and he told me, โUnfortunately, she wasnโt 20 years younger three weeks ago.โโ
Mr Gilmartin explains the decision to BN: โAll applications are considered on their individual merits. We look at a combination of age, quality of opposition, amateur credentials and activity.
It is a difficult call and one can appreciate both sides. Castle is a fit and capable competitor, so her frustration is understandable, but the Board know that, should they license her, and she got hurt, they would be criticised. Even Castle concedes this, to a point. โIf I get knocked out, the first thing people will point to is my age,โ she says. โI know that.
โBut if it happens, it will be because it was against was the better fighter. It can happen to anyone. Ramla Ali just got knocked out and sheโs 33. Nobody says she shouldnโt box. Iโve never been knocked out [she was stopped on her feet against Koseki].โ
But anybody can talk a good fight. I decide itโs best to see for myself how Castle looks in action, so I attend one of her training sessions.
Castle, under husband-coach Lorne, works out with Kayleigh Pingarelli, an amateur who boxes for Dorset Police. Pingarelli is a 22-year-old lightweight, so it is no surprise she hits the bags and pads harder and faster than her 29-years-older, 40lbs-lighter gym-mate. But it is when they spar that Castleโs experience counts. Her defence and accuracy are both superior and she handles the pace better. Pingarelli is panting after the three rounds and left nursing a bloodied nose.
It is, perhaps, an indication of the difference between a professional and an amateur, but as the younger woman catches her breath and dabs at her nose, she concludes: โDenise is awesome; sheโs fit as a fiddle. Sheโs fitter than me and a lot of people, and others at the club.
โItโs a shame she canโt get licensed to fight here. Itโs age discrimination. It should be based on fitness and health and if you pass a medical. Itโs a shame not more people know her story.โ
Maybe they will, if whatever remains of Castleโs career goes the way sheโd like it to: beat Hazuki in Bangkok and then rematch Bytyqi โ wherever that may be โ in a fight where victory would make her the oldest boxer of either gender to win a major sanctioning body belt.
Most will say she canโt do it, and many will say she shouldnโt even try to. But make no mistake, Castle will try, with or without your blessing.