JADE Jones isn’t quite embarking on a mission impossible. She can draw inspiration and hope from the likes of Lauren Price and Chantelle Cameron, who have switched combat sports to reach the very pinnacle of the Noble Art. But Jones is making the switch later in life.
The odds are, therefore, much longer for her to replicate the significant achievements of Price and Cameron. But Jones, while remaining level-headed about the size of the task in front of her, believes she can indeed do something quite extraordinary in another sport.
On March 7th, the two-time Olympic Champion announced her move into the world of professional boxing after a highly successful career in Taekwondo. Jones was a few months into her new world when I caught up with her over Zoom.
“It’s probably the ducking and the rolling,” Jones told me when I asked her what the hardest part of adjusting to her new sport was. “I am used to moving out and shifting out of the way, but not going under the arms. That’s still a little bit weird for now.”
The adjustments are being made under the tutelage of Liverpool fighting royalty.
“I am absolutely loving it,” Jones says of the new working relationship. “I am being coached by Stephen Smith, who is obviously one of the Smith brothers. So, for them to have taken me under their wing is amazing.
“I have taken to them straight away. They are a really good bunch. Callum (Smith) is there; he is teaching me a few things. They are all really close, and they are all part of the journey. If you are getting the backing of the Smith brothers, then you have to have some sort of chance.
“I went around to a few different gyms. But my instincts just told me. I felt so comfortable there. I liked his vibe. How Stephen taught me on the pads. I thought that was the place where I would be the happiest and obviously improve the most as well.”
Those early embryonic steps are now well underway. A new trade to learn. Jones believes she is already seeing signs of progress. “So far, my rate of improvement has been massive,” Jones told Boxing News.
“Every single week, I can see and feel myself getting better. I am buzzing about how fast I am improving. I think that is what I have on my side, to become an Olympic Champion, you have to know what it takes to be the best. I know how to train, how to work hard, and how to improve. It’s just learning the technique and how to box.
“I think my footwork could be my best attribute. In Taekwondo, you have a lead leg, and obviously, in boxing, you have a jab. That was what I was the best at, that Taekwondo jab with the leg. The first thing Stephen said to me was that I had a really good jab. The main thing I had in Taekwondo was that front leg.”
Jones knows she is coming into her new sport with a big target on her back.
“At first, when I came, I thought there would be no pressure in boxing,” Jones says. “But I have quickly realised that being an Olympic Champion in another sport, you are going to have pressure no matter what you do. Since I announced I was switching to boxing, I have had loads of girls in a similar weight category as me following me, and I bet they are thinking fresh meat.
“If I were them, I would be thinking, “Let’s send this girl back to Taekwondo because boxing is a lot tougher.” But hopefully, I can prove people wrong. Some people think Taekwondo is a little tappy-tappy sport, but I think I can show that it is not as easy as some people think.”
Jones is looking to compete around the super-featherweight ranks. A late summer professional debut that will tell her plenty about what kind of future, if any, she has in boxing. At 32, Jones thinks her best years are still ahead of her. “
I think that is what is so exciting. In Taekwondo, I was seen as old and small at my weight. But in boxing, I will be quite tall for the weight and also young as well. So it just goes to show you that life is just a perception, and it is literally what you make of it.
“I have time on my side. I learn really fast. I put in the work. I have become obsessed with boxing. Everything now is about boxing and becoming the best. It is a really tough challenge, but I love this stuff. I love hard work. Even just thinking about coming out in my shorts and having all my fans there. It’s a really exciting story.
“We are in talks to find the right promoter. I have got my coach and a manager. Now we are going to pick what deal is best with a promoter. We have got a few interested. I have the name, and obviously switching from Taekwondo and being a double Olympic Champion, could be good for boxing and further the other women in the sport as well.”
“I’ve not really thought about how far I want to go,” Jones adds when I ask her what she wants to achieve in boxing. “I want to put in all the work, keep my head down, and take it step by step. I am a complete novice in boxing, and it’s kind of a crazy challenge that I am doing.
“I do believe that I can be good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing it. I am just going to take it fight by fight. I could smash it in my first fight and start thinking I could go all the way to the top. Or I could get punched in the face and think I don’t like this. Who knows where this could all go?”
Jones started her combat sports journey before she had reached double figures. At 19, she was an Olympic Champion in 2012, when she was a 14-1 outsider to win that gold medal in London. Another gold medal followed four years later, before two early exits in Tokyo and Paris. The switch to boxing came not long after her second straight Olympic disappointment.
In many ways, the Bodelwyddan-born fighter was made for the kind of fighting life that she chose. “I am quite rough and tumble. I come from a council estate. I don’t think people really know that side of me. I have got a lot of heart and a lot of fire.
“Even as a kid, I used to spar with the boys on the field for a bit of fun. We’d get the boxing gloves on and just have a fight. I kind of enjoy that. I love it. I don’t have to change over to boxing. I actually want to. I think that’s the thing that is really exciting. I actually enjoy it. Boxing just excites me. It’s a new challenge.”
“I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and it helps my brain to have a purpose and a passion. I don’t think I would fit into a normal job. But training, being obsessed, and trying to be a champion is what makes me happy. It’s changed my whole life. It’s changed me from being a cheeky little council estate kid to having a good life and travelling the world.”
At 32, Jade Jones retains her ambitions. She reached the very top in one sport. She now wants to do it again in another. Jones is in good company in that Liverpool gym. Chantelle Cameron has recently started training with Stephen Smith.
Reports are that Jones is progressing well. “Jade is doing really well,” Smith recently told me. “She is making massive improvements, considering Jade is new to the sport. I’m really looking forward to people seeing the improvements she is making. Jade has competed at the top in another sport, and her mentality is amazing. Jade is coming on leaps and bounds, and I am excited for people to see her journey.”
But Jones is balanced and is under no illusions about the size of the task that awaits her. “It’s tough,” Jones admits. “I am used to being the best of the best. Being the top dog in your sport and everyone knows who you are. Who knows if I will be any good? I think I have got certain attributes, but until I get in there sparring and fighting, I don’t know how far I can take it.”
