Kirstie Bavington's back and eyeing new shot at a world title

The 32-year-old Pensnett puncher claimed a split decision win over Marine Beauchamp in France last Saturday to reclaim the EBU welterweight belt she was controversially stripped of 18 months ago.

Bavington, whose future in the sport appeared in doubt last year when she suffered three straight defeats, now hopes the path to a possible world title shot is back open after breathing new life into her career.

“I have proven you can do anything through hard work,” she said. “I was manifesting it.

“I was so confident I would win I posted a picture of myself with the belt beforehand. I just had to do it on the night and I did.”

Victory made up for the sense of injustice Bavington, who works full-time as a PE teacher at Sedgley’s Beacon Hill Academy, felt last March when she was stripped of the European title she had won the previous year by beating Timea Belik in Wolverhampton.

The belt was not on the line when she faced Canada’s Kandi Wyatt in what was effectively a world title eliminator but the EBU took the surprise decision of removing her title.

Bavington was then comfortably outpointed by Olympic champion Lauren Price when the pair clashed in first-ever British title fight in women’s boxing, before a frustrating, narrow defeat to April Hunter in July, 2023 left her career at a crossroads.

A win over Tereza Dvorakova earlier this year stopped the rot and moved Bavington into the position of being mandatory challenger for the EBU title. Saturday’s battle with Beauchamp in Laval, 180 miles to the west of Paris, was effectively “make or break” yet it was the UK boxer who won the day thanks to her superior workrate and pressure.

Bavington took a wide decision 98-92 and 97-93 on two of the cards, meaning the bizarre 96-94 card scored in favour of Beauchamp by Italian judge Guido Cavalleri was thankfully of no consequence.

“Everyone was telling me how hard it is to get a result in France,” said Bavington. “But I did it.”