Charley Davison: Mother-Of-Three To Fight For 2020 Olympic Games

Charley Davison (right) stepped out of the ring for seven years before returning and is now within a few fights from a place at Tokyo 2021

Olympic hopeful, Charley Davison is going for gold after reaching the final in Serbia

Davison started to box when she was just 8 years old, following her father through the doors at the gym. By 16, she was representing England at major youth events, winning real medals. Then the children came, the boxing finished and that looked like it was that. But for Davison, now 26, the fairy tale is back on.

“I’m still taking it all in and it’s not easy — it’s hard to believe, and I never thought that after three kids I would be here,” Davison said on Wednesday at GB Boxing’s headquarters in Sheffield, on an afternoon when all 13 Olympic hopefuls were revealed; Davison is the only name that is a true shock.

“When I came up to the Sheffield for assessment [in December] I was weighing 54 kilos,” she added. “I wanted to get in the squad. I had been back boxing for two years and I just wanted to be part of the GB team — I was not dreaming of the Olympics then.”

“So much harder! I’ve got three children so it’s different age levels. Trying to teach them how a teacher would and I didn’t want them to pick up bad habits, just trying to keep up with all the work,” Charley said. “It’s really stressful. Then if one child needs help, you help them, then the other one wants help. It’s continuous.”

Her boxing rapidly became a form of stress relief. “I was training in the back garden after the homeschooling so it was all fun and games. It was an experience,” she said. “It was different but we got through it and we’re back here in the Sheffield now.”

“Being a mum has helped me a lot. It has made me more determined and more strong-minded. I do it for the children, its not just a hobby, I do it for them.

“I didn’t think I would come back to boxing after having children but as soon as I stepped back in the boxing club I thought I’d see how far I could take it and now I want to go to Tokyo. I’ve just got to take my chance and get to Tokyo.

“I think I’m a talented boxer, believed in myself and that’s helped me.

“It would mean so much to make Olympics. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of since I was eight years old. It would take a long time to sink in.”

Now after unanimous points wins over France’s Gloria D’Almeida, Belarus’ Yuliya Apanasovich and Russian Aleksandra Kuleshova, the flyweight has guaranteed a silver medal and a place in the 51kg final on Tuesday, April 27 in the final against Nina Radovanovic, of Serbia.

A Team GB spokesman hailed the victories for “Super-mum Charley” after she made it three wins in as many days on her return to competitive action.

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