I want wee girls to see me headlining a fight night and know that they could do it too
Just a few years ago women’s boxing was routinely cut from TV broadcasts. But a reinvention during the pandemic means all eyes are on the classical bassoonist who tops the bill at the Hydro this Friday
Boxing was probably the only women’s sport to benefit from the pandemic. “Great things often come out of terrible times. Sports promoter Eddie Hearn decided he was going put on some female fights, behind closed doors, and Sky Sports showed them. It was a genius move. “People who wouldn’t normally watch boxing didn’t have any other sports to watch, so were a captive audience who found themselves being introduced to women’s fights. “They realised women’s boxing is fast-paced, with two minute rounds, and the fights were super exciting. “These new fans hadn’t realised what they were missing, and they continue to be really excited by what they see. “Audience figures for women’s boxing are growing dramatically. “While I’m focused on winning my next fight – on having my arm raised and hearing the words ‘And still WBA and IBO super welterweight world champion, Hannah Rankin’ – I know too I’ll have a lot of little eyes on me, especially of young girls. “I want those girls to see someone like myself headline a show and know one day they could do the same. “That’s what I want my legacy in the sport to be – helping change things for the next generation.” Hannah, who made history in 2019 when she became Scotland’s first female boxing world champion, found a passion for boxing much later than most in the profession. Her first love in life wasn’t sport but music.
Aclassical bassoonist, Hannah juggles boxing with her role as a professional musician, playing with orchestras and as part of wind band, the Coriolis Quintet, who tour schools and care homes.
A graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, she was studying for a Masters degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London when she first took up boxing.
Around the same time her mum, Clare, who played the piano, cello and French horn, was diagnosed with an undetermined cancer.
When her mum died just six months later, aged just 43, Hannah threw herself into boxing.
Hannah, whose dad Andrew, 62, runs her family’s sheep farm in the hills surrounding Loch Lomond, said: “Growing up, my mum had sent my sisters and I to taekwondo, and I had loved the discipline of that.
“When I moved to London I wanted to get fit again, so started doing Thai boxing, then met my coach, Noel Callan, who introduced me to boxing.
“Initially I was just doing it for fitness and fun, then I fell in love with it and found I had the same passion for it as I did my music.
“At the time, I was dealing with the loss of my mum. She was diagnosed with cancer and passed away really quickly.
“My mum and I had always done a lot of music things together. After her loss I found doing anything associated with music quite hard. In contrast, boxing gave me an outlet for the frustration and anger I was feeling.”
Hannah’s support team have always taken care to ensure her musician’s hands are not put at risk through fighting. She said: “I have to take care of my hands otherwise I can’t perform. They are my livelihood. I have to watch out too for sparring injuries. I can’t play the bassoon with a bruised lip.”
Hannah says her dual careers are more similar than many would think.
She said: “My music and boxing are both about performance. I get the same adrenalin hit being on stage as I get on fight night when I’m competing under the lights in the boxing ring.
“The confidence I’ve gained from boxing has actually helped me when it comes to solo music performances, and even the breathing from playing music has helped with my boxing.”
As Hannah looks forward to Friday’s battle she has banned herself from playing the bassoon. She said: “For me, music is very emotive and I’ve got a lot of emotional attachment to it, especially because of losing my mum. “That emotion can be really quite draining, so now when I’m getting ready for a fight I avoid doing my musical side of things completely.” When Hannah takes to the ring, she will be sad her mum won’t be in the crowd but believes she will be there in spirit. Her dad will be there in body. Hannah said: “He comes to every one of my fights. If he finds them a bit stressful he lowers his glasses so he can’t quite see every hit but he’s very proud. “Mum never saw me box but I know she is with me every time I walk out into that ring. She’s always with me.”
I want my legacy in the sport to be helping change things for the next generation