Kayla Allen only started boxing a few years ago, teaching herself with YouTube videos and throwing punches in her garden. Her rapid ascent since then has been astonishing. She made it all the way to the GB squad and has now become the first woman to sign with Zuffa Boxing.
She will have her second fight on Sky Sports on November 7. "Any fight I go into, whether it's the first debut, the second fight or a world title fight, everyone's getting dealt with the same," she told Sky Sports. "It's always been exciting, it's never been boring.
So for me it's not about being someone else, it's about being myself, and the best Kayla beats anybody on the night." After originally pursuing ambitions in football, Allen started trying to box at home during the pandemic lockdown. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "I learned how to box in my back garden as an 18-year-old girl. I watched videos on YouTube, how to throw a jab, watched Mayweather, Mike Tyson, AJ, I just studied the sport and then went down to the local boxing gym, did a couple of white-collar fights and now we're here," Allen said.
"I've always believed in myself. Whenever I first started, no matter what I do I always go: 'I'm going to be the best at this'. So whatever that means I don't know, but that's just my mindset.
No matter what I do I'm always the best at it and I'll be the best at boxing." Her first amateur tournament was the Golden Girl, a large international competition in Sweden. Allen performed well in the national championships and was soon on the GB squad, an astonishing ascent. "Within six months I was on England and then within eight months I was on GB.
That's work, credit to my coaches and credit to myself, and the GB system and the England system to allow me to get to where I needed to be. I'm glad to be here and it's a good opportunity," she said. It led her now to her breakthrough move into professional boxing, becoming Zuffa's first female signing.
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