Adams cruises to victory on pro debut

Nicola Adams breezed through her professional debut, winning every round to triumph on points over Virginia Noemi Carcamo on Saturday.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist dominated from start to finish in a one-sided four round flyweight bout at the Manchester Arena as she showed her potential to continue her success in the paid ranks.

Briton Adams, 34, showed off the slick foot movement and smart boxing which helped her win the first two women’s Olympic boxing tournaments in 2012 and 2016 as an amateur.

“I enjoyed every minute of it,” said Adams.

“I was a bit too eager to get the stoppage because I wanted to entertain the crowd but she was tough and she was hanging in there, literally at the end.

“Without the head guard it was great, it doesn’t effect your visibility, I loved it, I’m here to stay.”

Boxing without a head guard as they do in women’s amateur boxing, Adams settled into her rhythm after a reserved first round by landing various combinations in the second.

It was a decent learning experience for Adams, who had not boxed in the UK since the London Olympics in 2012.

Argentine Carcamo (4-3-1, 0 KOs), 32, had lost her two previous fights but was tough and still firing back in the fourth round.

Adams’ boxing skills were a joy to watch in the third and fourth rounds and she was just too quick for Carcamo, who proved too tough to crack over four rounds.

Adams prepared for her first paid bout at a gym near San Fransisco with trainer Virgil Hunter and working alongside her girlfriend Marlen Esparza, the American 2012 Olympic bronze medallist who Adams says she will never fight.

“Virgil knows how to turn an Olympic champion into a pound-for-pound champion and that’s why I’m with him,” said Adams.

Adams will be back in action soon, boxing in Leeds on May 13, and says she wants to be world champion next year.

She is the latest Olympic gold medallist to switch from the amateur to the professional ranks following American Claressa Shields (2-0, 1 KO) and Ireland’s Katie Taylor (4-0, 2 KOs), who compete in different weight classes to Adams.