People told me I won’t make it as a boxer – African champion Gbadamosi

<p>Youth Olympic Games silver medallist Adijat Gbadamosi, who was recently signed on by Monarch Boxing Promotions, is the first Nigerian female boxer to claim the African Boxing Union super-bantamweight title. In this interview with PETER AKINBO, she talks about how she started boxing, challenges she faced and more</p>, <p>How old were you when you started boxing?</p>, <p>I started boxing at 11. It was difficult and not difficult, you know, when you have people who support you, even though there are some people who said negative things sometimes and it touched me. It made me feel like giving up. Some people would say ‘you are a girl, why are you boxing?’ You know, people always look down on female boxers. They will say, ‘you can’t make it through this boxing, you can’t even go far, you will still end up in the kitchen.’ Some people told my parents to stop me from going to the gym, but thank God my parents never stopped. They always said, ‘it’s all up to you, it is your future, so, we can’t decide for you, you have to do what you want.’</p>, <p>Why did you choose boxing?</p>, <p>I don’t think there is a reason for that because when I started boxing, I just saw boxers training and I loved it. I went to my parents and told them that I wanted to box. They asked me why and I said I don’t know, I just love the way they are doing it and I want to try.</p>, <p>Did your parents support you initially?</p>, <p>Yes, they did not have a choice. They had to support what I love and they can’t decide what I will do for myself or what career I will choose for myself.</p>, <p>So, how do you feel being the first Nigerian female boxer to win the African Boxing Union title?</p>, <p>I feel good, I am happy to be the first female Nigerian boxer to have this ABU super-bantamweight title. It was not easy, I trained hard and I thank God for helping me to become the champion.</p>, <p>What was going through your mind during the title fight?</p>, <p>I felt very confident, I did not want to go there to lose the opportunity that my manager gav