Nicola Adams set to turn professional: She wants to be the Ronda Rousey of boxing

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Nicola Adams is one of Britain's most successful amateur boxers

Adams, 34, is a double Olympic gold medallist at flyweight but GB Boxing confirmed this morning that she had withdrawn from the Olympic performance programme.

And Express Sport understands she will later today announce her move into the professional game, something she hinted at in an exclusive interview last year.

“For me to go and fight on the professional scene I would need a challenge,” said Adams.

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Nicola Adams hinted at her announcement on Twitter yesterday

“I like to make a splash. What the sport really needs is a big name for the crowd to follow.

“If they’ve got that then the professional scene could see a huge boost.

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Nicola Adams has twice won gold at the Olympics

“If you look at what Ronda Rousey has done for UFC, the women’s sport has become huge because she was a big name.

“She won a medal in judo in the Olympics and then moved onto UFC.”

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Adams has gold medals from London 2012 and Rio 2016, having competed as an amateur for nearly 10 years.

GB Boxing performance director Rob McCracken said: “Nicola has made a huge contribution to both the Olympic programme and the sport of boxing and I would like to thank her for everything she has done for GB Boxing since she joined the squad in 2010.”

Original Article