Preston boxing ace Lisa Whiteside throwing down the gauntlet to her rivals

The 35-year-old Chorley-born ace has not thrown a competitive punch in more than a year after giving birth to her son Jensen at the end of last year.

Now firmly back in training, Whiteside is keen to press ahead with her ambition of becoming a world champion.

However, it appears nobody is too keen to get in the ring with the former policewoman – her undoubted reputation

obviously going before her.

Despite having only fought three times as a professional, Whiteside has a plethora of experience gained from being one of the best amateur fighters in the world for nearly a decade.

A World Championship silver medal winner in 2014 when she fought for Great Britain, Whiteside’s crowning moment in the amateur ranks came in 2018 when she won Commonwealth Games gold in Australia.

She believes she already has the necessary skills and experience to be fast-tracked to world level. Next month, she will be an interested spectator when fellow Brit Shannon Courtenay takes on Australia’s Ebanie Bridges for the vacant WBA world bantamweight title.

Originally, Courtenay was due to face Rachel Ball but an injury to the latter means the Australian has stepped in as a replacement.

Whiteside earlier this year became embroiled in a spat with Bridges on social media when she offered to take on the Aussie, who was looking for an opponent.

A match-up between the pair failed to materialise but Whiteside insists she will be happy to take on the winner of that fight later this year or face Ball, who has already beaten Courtenay on points in April of last year.

She said: “I’d love to fight the winner of this fight and even though I am more qualified than Bridges, I’m happy to fight anyone to prove it. Myself against Rachel Ball makes sense.

“I just want to crack on now. I am at a fresh start fighting at bantamweight rather than flyweight.

“I don’t want any warm-up fights or to box nobodies, I just want to get in the ring and show what I can do.”

“I am not bothered who I fight.”

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