Double Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones has announced her arrival in professional boxing with a impressive second-round knockout victory. The Welsh athlete, who won Olympic gold medals in the 2012 London Olympics and Rio 2016, defeated Egypt Criss in her boxing debut at Misfits Duel 2 in Derby. Jones required only two rounds to secure victory, defeating her opponent with three successive left hooks. The 32-year-old from Flint made the bold switch from taekwondo after 20 years in the sport, pursuing an ambitious target of becoming a world champion in two separate sports. Her first fight marks the start of an extraordinary new chapter in her athletic career.
From Taekwondo Dominance to Boxing Success
Jade Jones’ transition from taekwondo to boxing exemplifies one of sport’s most intriguing career pivots. After investing two decades honing her craft in taekwondo and attaining the sport’s pinnacle with consecutive Olympic gold medals, the Welsh champion determined she needed a different challenge. At 32 years old, Jones made the brave decision to exchange 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 prior competitive experience.
Jones has built a team with skilled direction to accelerate her development in the sport of boxing. Working with former professional boxer Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith at the renowned 4 Corners Gym, she has gained access to elite-level instruction. Additionally, Jones finds motivation in her ex-training partner Lauren Price, a world title holder in boxing who effectively managed her own diverse athletic pursuits before committing fully to boxing as a career. Price’s example of competing at the highest levels in football, kickboxing, and taekwondo before achieving peak performance in boxing has offered Jones a roadmap to her ambitious goals.
- Olympic gold medals earned in London 2012 and Rio 2016
- Working out at Liverpool’s iconic 4 Corners Gym with Swifty Smith
- Inspired by unified champion Lauren Price’s multi-sport success
- Lofty goal of becoming world champion in two sports
A Dominant Showing in the Ring
Jade Jones’ boxing debut at Misfits Duel 2 in Derby represented a impressive show of determination. Facing Egypt Criss, daughter of hip-hop icons Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss from Naughty by Nature and Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton from Salt-N-Pepa, Jones demonstrated the devastating force and tactical expertise that marked her taekwondo career. The Welsh champion’s showing indicated that her shift to boxing would not be merely ceremonial but genuinely competitive, as she dominated her opponent with clinical efficiency and devastating striking ability.
The fight displayed Jones’ natural athleticism and her ability to translate her fighting background into the squared circle. Despite possessing no boxing credentials, she showed the mental toughness and spatial awareness typical of a veteran competitor. Her triumph was decidedly more than a competitive contest but rather a overwhelming showing that made clear her status as a genuine boxing contender. The speed and power of her striking sequences hinted that her Olympic background would work in her favor in this fresh stage of her sporting career.
The Crucial Second Round
The crucial juncture came in the second round when Jones unleashed a powerful sequence of punches that concluded the fight. Three back-to-back left hooks overwhelmed Criss, with the final blow sending her to the canvas and compelling the referee to stop the bout. The KO win was dominant and controlled, highlighting Jones’ skill in recognizing and exploit her opponent’s vulnerabilities with exact timing. This spectacular ending captured the essence of her boxing debut—quick, decisive, and utterly convincing.
Jones’ second-round knockout strengthened her ambitious goal of winning a world title in two different sports. The striking quality of her first win suggests that her target is not just a dream but potentially achievable given her dedication and world-class instruction. The speed with which she dispatched Criss revealed that the transition from taekwondo to professional boxing may be smoother than many observers anticipated, creating the foundation for an intriguing journey toward title success in her new discipline.
Training and Inspiration Behind the Victory
Jones’ rapid success in the boxing ring did not stem from a vacuum but rather from a well-organized training regimen under the direction of veteran coaches. Since beginning her boxing journey at the outset of last year, she has been working with former professional boxer Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith at Liverpool’s renowned 4 Corners Gym. This partnership has played a key role in converting her taekwondo expertise into solid boxing mechanics, allowing her to retain the precision and explosiveness that characterized her Olympic career while acclimating to the unique challenges of professional boxing sport.
The decision to take up boxing represented a conscious decision to seek 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 start again at a beginner’s level in a distinct discipline. Her ambitious target of becoming a world champion in two sports gave her the motivation to undertake this major career transition, turning what could have been a retirement into an exciting fresh beginning of athletic achievement.
Learning from Professional Boxers
Jones has gained substantial inspiration from unified world boxing champion Lauren Price, who was her previous roommate and shares a similarly diverse sporting background. Price’s own journey through multiple combat sports—including football for Wales, kickboxing, and taekwondo—before transitioning to professional boxing provided a compelling blueprint for success. This mentorship from someone who had already navigated a comparable path proved extremely valuable, offering actionable advice and psychological encouragement as Jones started her own boxing career with resolve and self-assurance.
- Working out at 4 Corners Gym under coach Stephen ‘Swifty’ Smith’s specialized coaching
- Receiving guidance from unified world champion Lauren Price’s cross-sport expertise
- Applying 20 years of Olympic taekwondo knowledge to professional boxing techniques
Lofty Objectives in a Emerging Athletic Discipline
Jones’ decision to pursue boxing came with a strikingly ambitious 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 achieved the discipline’s top accolades. At 32 years old, rather than resting on her Olympic laurels, Jones elected to push herself in an completely different arena, demonstrating the competitive spirit that had shaped her lengthy career spanning two decades in taekwondo. Her goal reveals not merely a wish for a new beginning, but a resolve to solidify her legacy as one of athletics’ most well-rounded and skilled competitors across different fields.
The journey to global championship standing in boxing presents a markedly distinct challenge from her previous achievements. Unlike taekwondo, where Jones had devoted considerable time mastering technique and building experience, she enters the boxing world as a newcomer to the sport competing against fighters with lengthy competitive histories. However, her dominant inaugural performance—a second-round KO victory featuring three straight left hooks—suggests she possesses the raw talent and technical foundation necessary to move swiftly through the ranks. If Jones can sustain this path while further refining her boxing skills under expert coaching, her ambitious dual-championship dream may prove considerably more attainable than originally looked.
