Nicola Aldred from Middleton was urged by one of her three sisters to give boxing a go to help her cope with her PTSD and now four years after having walked into Padraic McDonagh’s Golden Team Gym in Hunslet and now the mother of a boy of twelve is the club’s deputy manager and leads young children’s boxing classes.
“It was so bad I didn’t leave the house for months,” said Nicola, 31, a qualified plumber who originally hails from Richmond.
“I fell in love with the sport and would recommend it to anyone. I’ve been competing for three years now and have won five fights including a title belt on a Holmes Promotions show. I’m looking forward to my next bout on our show at the Aria Suite in Woodhouse on Friday 7 March.”
Joining her will be Mia who’s taking her first steps into the square circle aged just seven with a three round skills bout, each round lasting one minute. “I’ve trained Mia for a year and she’s keen to be the next Katie Taylor. She’s talented and knows how to hit,” explained Aldred. “Our boxers all start out this way just showcasing their skills without the pressure of a win/lose result. That comes soon enough but never before a child turns ten.”
Mum Christieanne is delighted at Mia’s progress. “A massive thank you to Nicola for giving Mia this chance and making her believe that she can do it. I didn’t think she’d come this far. The positive comments she gets, the compliments and high fives all of it she absolutely loves.”
If interested in sponsoring these boxers or a bout on the show, please contact Golden Team on Facebook or at goldenteamp1@icloud.com or on 07432 297690.
“We’re delighted to provide opportunities for boxers young and younger to show how dedicated and courageous they are,” said Golden Team’s owner Padraic McDonagh. “Our show is on Friday 7 March at the Aria Suite on Woodhouse Street, Leeds 6. Doors open at 6pm.”
This post was written by James Bovington
We encourage anyone living or working in South Leeds to use this website to tell their news. You can either use the Create an article for South Leeds Life page, or email us at: info@southleedslife.com
While you’re here, can we ask a favour?
South Leeds Life is published by a not-for-profit social enterprise. We keep our costs as low as possible but we’ve been hit by increases in the print costs for our monthly newspaper which have doubled in the last two years.
Could you help support local community news by making a one off donation, or even better taking out a supporters subscription?
Donate here, or sign up for a subscription at bit.ly/SLLsubscribe
