Olympic Champ Jade Jones Wins Boxing Debut with Knockout

After winning Olympic gold twice in taekwondo, Jade Jones just proved she can dominate in a completely different ring.

The Welsh athlete knocked out Egypt Criss in the second round of her boxing debut in Derby this week. Three successive left hooks ended the fight, marking a stunning start to Jones's bold new chapter.

Jones won Olympic gold in London 2012 and Rio 2016 before walking away from taekwondo after two decades in the sport. At 32, she decided she needed a fresh challenge and set her sights impossibly high: becoming a world champion in two different sports.

The switch required starting over from scratch. Jones has been training at Liverpool's iconic 4 Corners Gym under former professional boxer Stephen 'Swifty' Smith, learning an entirely new fighting style.

Her opponent Criss brought her own star power as the daughter of hip-hop legends Anthony 'Treach' Criss from Naughty by Nature and Sandra 'Pepa' Denton from Salt-N-Pepa. But Jones's Olympic-level discipline andwork ethic showed through when it mattered most.

Why This Inspires

Jones's journey proves that success doesn't have an expiration date. At an age when many athletes retire, she chose to become a beginner again.

She found inspiration close to home. Her former roommate Lauren Price also made the switch to boxing after competing in football, kickboxing, and taekwondo for Wales. Price went on to become a unified world boxing champion, showing Jones the path was possible.

The Flint native isn't just dabbling in a new hobby. She's training with the same intensity that won her two Olympic golds, working toward another seemingly impossible goal.

Most inspiring is what Jones represents: the courage to start over when you've already reached the top. She traded certainty for possibility, comfort for growth.

One knockout down, and the journey toward boxing history has only just begun.