BOXING
ISLAND-BORN boxer Holly Keats is preparing for one of the biggest fights of her life — to retain her British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) title.
Keats, 23, a former Carisbrooke High School pupil and now PhD student in developmental brain biology, will be representing the University of Portsmouth at the championships, which have been taking place in Sheffield since Wednesday and run until Sunday.
Last year she won the 64kg title, and it still ranks as one of her biggest achievements.
This year, Keats is expected to go through to a straight final tomorrow (Saturday) at the championships, where 6,000 elite student athletes will compete in 26 sports.
Of last year’s win, she said: "It was the culmination of two years of hard work. I was in great form and it really capped off an amazing year in university sport for me."
Holly took up the sport after seeing a group of men, all dressing in University of Portsmouth Boxing Club kit, run past her along the city’s seafront.
"At this point I hated the idea of boxing, thought it was a vicious and archaic sport which promoted aggression and violence in young people," she said. "But they were there every morning, running together and keeping each other going, so I asked about their training regime.
"I went along to a non-contact session because I’d heard boxing was really good for general fitness. I got hooked. I watched my first amateur boxing match probably two-and-a half years ago. It was amazing."
Thanks to her swift progression in the sport, Keats has gone from hating boxing to being one of the nation’s brightest prospects and is helped by Portsmouth’s sports scholarship scheme, which supports her alongside her regular studies.
According to Keats, attitudes towards women boxing is much more open minded within university sport, than it is within the world of club boxing.
"There is sometimes a sexist attitude from some of the older generation who I meet through boxing," she said. "A lot of men have witnessed the change in boxing and are reluctant to accept it. The only way to tackle that, in my eyes, is to work hard and show them that female boxing cannot be discounted, nor is it a fad which will pass."
Keats, who grew up in Shorwell, also suffers from brittle asthma, and says the benefits of boxing for health have been huge.
"With boxing I can sustain a high level of fitness so that I’m stronger to fight infections and I can recover from a serious asthma attack quicker," she said.
• To find out more, go online at www.bucs.org.uk.
Reporter: sport@iwcpmail.co.uk