! OD WO LLY HO

morning when I don’t want to get up.’ We’re speaking at the London Hilton Hotel, three weeks before their split, with the boxer completely unaware of what’s about to happen. She’s clearly smitten, proudly showing me the engagement ring Marlen designed for her (‘She knows I don’t like standard stuff, I like everything to be unique’). Then, she gets her phone out to offer pictures of the ring she made Marlen, as well as their matching tattoos – the Chinese symbol for love. We’re here to talk about Nicola’s return to sport after she took a break last year following her mother’s cancer diagnosis. ‘I wanted to take some time out to make sure she was OK,’ she says. ‘She told me, “I want to see you win, I want to see you get the world title.” She basically kicked me back into training.’ Nicola never wants anyone to be able to say ‘I beat Nicola Adams’, which is one of the reasons she has no plans to go back to the Olympics in 2020. ‘I’ve won twice now, and I’ve got so many more things to win. I wouldn’t want to go into the Olympics and think I might not get a gold but I’ll get a silver. That’s not my mentality.’

With the wedding off, her full focus is on training ferociously to ensure at least one of her dreams comes true this year (so much so that she declines to offer any further comment on her relationship when I go back to ask her, following the news). But what happens after she achieves world champion status? ‘I want to act!’ she says. ‘I’m taking lessons already. I’d love to play a superhero or even a villain. Why not take it the complete totally opposite direction?’

With everything she’s achieved already, expect to see Nicola Adams in a Marvel film very soon indeed.