Amateur star dubbed ‘next Katie Taylor' had text ignored by Eddie Hearn before one sparring sessions changed it all
Ayton - still just 18 years old - was a standout amateur winning ALL of her bouts as a four-time national champion.
3
3
3
She had an outstanding 21-0 record in the unpaid ranks and over 300 bouts altogether in kickboxing and Muay Thai too.
But she had her heart set on the pros - even turning down a Team GB contract - to follow in the footsteps of boxing great Katie Taylor.
And like 2012 Olympic champion Taylor - Ayton reached out personally to get herself of Hearn's radar - but to no avail.
She told SunSport with a laugh: "I messaged him saying like, 'Hopefully one day you can sign me.'
"But he never messaged me back! So hopefully he can message me back now."
Despite the aired message, soon Hearn would know who Ayton was.
The teenage talent was recruited as a sparring partner by former WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson earlier in the year.
Watching on at trainer Eddie Lam's iBox Gym in Bromley was Hearn - so impressed by Ayton he cut a deal to sign her there and then.
Ayton knew it was going to be no regular sparring session - sensing it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
She said: "I had to put my everything into it, like, it wasn't a normal spar. I looked at it as like it was a fight.
Terence Crawford starts training camp for huge Canelo Alvarez fight
"And it all paid off, so I'm happy with it. He said I was great, he said I looked good, interesting to watch and everything."
Ayton is also managed by Brian Peters, who has helped take Taylor to undisputed titles in TWO weight divisions.
And Ayton - dubbed "the next Katie Taylor" - has received words of wisdom from the Irish icon herself.
Ayton revealed: "I spoke to her on the phone and stuff. She was saying she's excited to watch my debut and everything, she's seen footage of me.
"So it's exciting. She's very inspirational for young women to look up to and want to go into boxing."
Ayton makes her pro debut on June 21 in Birmingham on Galal Yafai's undercard at super-batamweight.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Thierry Henry explains why Viktor Gyokeres and Arsenal are the ‘perfect match'
Thierry Henry believes Arsenal and Viktor Gyokeres are a 'perfect match' due to the Swedish striker's desire to operate inside the penalty area. Gyokeres signed for the Gunners from Sporting CP for £64m to reenergise Mikel Arteta's attack in what is set up as a 'now or never' type season. And the 27-year-old managed to get off the mark in pre-season with a powerful header in the 3-0 win over Athletic Club, highlighting a key quality to impress Arsenal legend Henry. 'That instinct and understanding to anticipate the cross [against Athletic], a great header with soft touch to guide it to the other side of the goal – he is a proper No. 9,' Henry said in his Betway Insider blog. 'He is not a Firmino type of 9 that's going to drop into midfield. He wants to be in the box, in between the posts, and he said it himself – please put the ball in the box and serve me. 'You have a guy that's a killer in the box – numbers don't lie – and you have a team that create a lot of chances, so it should be the perfect match, but you have to also understand that sometimes it doesn't click straight away. 'What you want is people to be patient with him, and what is annoying right now is that people are not that patient anymore. They want the guy to perform straight away, score goals straight away and make us win straight away, which doesn't happen often. 'I'm an Arsenal fan, I obviously hope he's going to do well, bang goals for us, and guide us to a title, but he's not going to do that alone. We have seen that goals don't always assure you a title. We've seen guys with mad numbers, but they didn't win anything. 'The team around them has to be good. From what I've seen from him and how he finishes, hopefully it's going to be a great match and we can finally go back to lift that trophy. But as I've said, a lot of teams want to lift that.' Gyokeres will make his full debut on Sunday against Manchester United, with the Gunners travelling to Old Trafford to kick-start their title challenge after three successive runner-up finishes in the Premier League.
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kick It Out: Black players may look to avoid penalties after abuse of Mathys Tel
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out says players may think twice about taking penalties in future after Tottenham's Mathys Tel received online racist abuse. France Under-21 international Tel is the latest player to be targeted on social media after he missed a spot kick in Wednesday night's UEFA Super League penalty shoot-out defeat to Paris St Germain. The Premier League club lost the shoot-out 4-3 after they had surrendered a late 2-0 lead in Italy to draw 2-2 after 90 minutes. Tottenham said they were 'disgusted' by the abuse directed at Tel and Kick It Out claim social media companies are still not doing enough to combat online racism. A Kick It Out statement read: 'If you're a black player, it would be totally understandable to think, 'Why would I want to take a penalty?' That's the state of the game right now, and the sad fact is, it's nothing new. 'Players are routinely targeted with racism online and want action; we want action, too. 'Accountability from offenders and social media companies is a baseline, but it's not being met. 'Football bodies, authorities, and the regulator Ofcom, must come together to accelerate a plan that better protects players. 'Their welfare should always be paramount, and we stand with Mathys Tel and all those who have suffered this continuing, racist abuse.' Tottenham, who initially signed Tel on loan from Bayern Munich in January before making the move permanent in a £30million deal in June, said the player had shown 'bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty' . The club said in a statement: 'We are disgusted at the racial abuse that Mathys Tel has received on social media following last night's UEFA Super Cup defeat. 'Mathys showed bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty, yet those who abuse him are nothing but cowards – hiding behind anonymous usernames and profiles to spout their abhorrent views. 'We will work with the authorities and social media platforms to take the strongest possible action against any individual we are able to identify. We stand with you, Mathys.' Tottenham led 2-0 until the 85th minute at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, through goals from Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero before late efforts from Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos hauled PSG level.
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Football Manager 26 gets a reveal trailer – here's everything to know so far
Football Manager 26 has finally been teased by Sports Interactive after months of silence. The game returns after a shock hiatus, as Football Manager 25 was cancelled by the developer in February earlier this year due to development delays. However, the studio has since shared a 30-second video revealing the new game. – With commentary from Peter Drury, it offered a very first glimpse at the brand new in-game engine, now powered by Unity. On top of that, we got a look at the official Premier League license, included for the very first time in the series. That means all the official PL teams, players, kits and more will be available in the upcoming game. The video finishes with a message saying "guess who's back" along with a first look at the Football Manager 26 logo. A match day first look is coming soon, but for now, here's a look at everything we know so far about Football Manager 26. Football Manager 26 trailer The trailer has very little detail, but you can watch the first exciting glimpses of Premier League action below. Back. Better. Building for the season ahead. #FM26 Match Day First Look. Coming soon. — Football Manager (@FootballManager) August 13, 2025 What's new in Football Manager 26? For the uninitiated, the game - unsurprisingly - lets you become a football manager, taking minnows from the depths of the footballing pyramid to the Premier League and beyond. Details are thin on the ground, but Football Manager 26 will have all of the updated teams from the 2025/26 season in the leagues it covers around the world. The Premier League license is included in the game for the first time, meaning that all 20 of the official teams will be represented, including kits, logos, player photos and more. The game engine is moving to Unity, and delays in this move are why Football Manager 25 was cancelled back in February. The new match engine seems to offer the game's best-ever graphics. As in previous years, it's likely that Sports Interactive will add a handful of new teams, but this has not yet been confirmed. Can I pre-order Football Manager 26? Football Manager 26 is not yet available to pre-order. Availability usually coincides with the annoucment of a release date. Which platforms can I play Football Manager 26 on? Previous Football Manager titles have been playable across PC, Mac, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and mobile. The full, traditional game is usually available on PC and Mac. A console-optimised version is usually available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with Touch usually releasing on Nintendo Switch consoles, tablets and mobile. There's also a dedicated mobile game that requires a Netflix subscription to play. Details about Football Manager 26 Console, Touch and Mobile are not yet known. The release date for Football Manager 26 is currently unknown, but usually, the games release in October or November, with Football Manager 2024, the last entry, releasing in November 2023. Football Manager 2024 Can't wait that long? If you want to get up to speed before Football Manager 26 comes out, or just to check out a brilliant football sim, Football Manager 2024 included a whole range of new features at the time that will likely be present in Football Manager 26, including Japanese leagues, player development tweaks, set-piece coaches and plenty more.
