Woodwind warrior’s ready for bell
HANNAH RANKIN is determined to keep the promise made to one of her bassoon students.
“She’s nine years old and was asking me if I will bring one of the belts to her house after the fight,” said Rankin. “She thinks it’s pretty cool that her bassoon teacher is fighting for the world title in America on Saturday.”
Cool is one word for it. Bizarre is another. Rankin is a classically trained musician who has played in orchestras around the world – and a prizefighter.
She finished work on Wednesday and flew to the States to fight the formidable Claressa Shields for the IBF, WBA and vacant WBC world middleweight titles tomorrow night.
“Most boxers have another job outside boxing,” said the 28-year-old. “Mine just happens to be as a classical musician.”
Rankin has always done things her way. Brought up on a farm near Loch Lomond, she quickly decided against the agricultural life.
“Too many early starts and working with animals,” said Rankin. “I loved growing up with the animals in the middle of nowhere. I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood, but my mum and dad knew the farming life wasn’t for me.”
She grew up in a musical house – “mum played the French Horn and cello” – and that became her passion. “I did taekwondo when I was nine or 10, but when I discovered music I gave it up,” said Rankin, who studied at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before heading to London “seven or eight” years ago. Possibly the highlight of her musical career was performing Swan Lake with the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre at the London Coliseum, and Rankin says such experiences have benefited her in her boxing career.
“There are different things to worry about,” she said. “I may have played in front of a few rowdy crowds before, but I never thought I was going to get punched in the face.
“They are both a rush. You live in the moment, you breathe it, it’s amazing. You take the same deep breaths when you walk out in front of the crowd, smile and stay focused. The bassoon is a solo instrument, so that gets you used to the pressure of being in the boxing ring on your own.”
Rankin took up boxing about five years ago, really throwing herself into her training following the death of her mother, Clare.
“Boxing helped me through it,” she said. “It was a way to switch off and I know it’s what mum would have wanted.
“Mum always had lots of get up and go. She wouldn’t have wanted us to sit around getting depressed. It’s good to be busy.”
Rankin only had a handful of white-collar fights before turning pro and from the start, aimed high.
“I’m extremely driven and so is my coach, Noel Callan,” she said. “I told him from the start that if I’m going to do this, I want to get to the top and be a world champion.”
Rankin had a shot at the WBA super-middleweight championship in August and was outpointed by Alicia Napoleon.
She gets another world-title shot after sparring partner Christina Hammer pulled out, and says the Shields scrap is a grudge fight.
“Christina is my friend and sparring partner and I said I was backing her to beat Claressa,” she said. “When Claressa saw me, she said, ‘I will fight you as well’. I said, ‘No problem’. Now it’s happening.”
Gold medallist in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Shields has won world pro titles at middleweight and supermiddlewight. “I know it’s going to be tough,” said Rankin, “but I have got a promise to keep…”