Larkhall Lightweight Adele Craw fights out of Forsyth’s Boxing Club in Hamilton. Adele has made an impact on Scottish Boxing, and has her sights firmly set on becoming a Professional Boxer. However, for the time being she is looking no further than the Scottish Championships in January.

Growing up in Larkhall, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, was very difficult for Adele; she has blurry memories of her childhood, “I was a nightmare, very impatient, nervous - a very frightened child. I never wanted to go to school”.  She did manage to get herself into a lot of trouble in the later years of high school.

A cruel tragedy struck the family within a three year period, “My cousin and uncle were murdered. It was two separate incidents. I know my uncle Robert was murdered outside the doctors, he was battered to death”. This brutality must have scarred Adele who was only 17 when her uncle was taken under horrific circumstances.

Adele started playing football for Ballieston but kept getting sent off. She was gradually spiralling out of control; she became a real wild child. Adele admits, “I was totally off the rails”. She tried to drive a car home from the pub while under the influence of alcohol, “I went off the road and crashed the car. I got 32 stitches in my hand, broke my shoulder, and had a broken arm”, the doctors told her if she wasn’t drunk she would have killed herself, “I was in the car myself, the car flipped, and I punched my hand through the sunroof to get out”. Adele received a £350 fine and was banned for a year, “I learned my lesson never to drink and drive again”, she said.

Tragedy struck the family again another three years down the line, “My cousin was out watching a Celtic and Rangers football game around Christmas, and got stabbed through the heart”. Adele had such a close family, her uncle and cousin had lived next door. This latest horrendous misery must have taken its toll on Adele, “To be honest, I think it affected my dad more. I was just going through the motions, just had to get on with it, and felt as though I had to stick up for myself”.

Adele was making a name for herself for all the wrong reasons; she was fighting in pubs and clubs every weekend. She fought with men, women and bouncers. She got charged with Police assaults, and carrying offensive weapons. She got barred from all pubs in Larkhall to Hamilton. She did try karate, but opted for Thai Boxing due to the savage nature of the sport. It was during her time as a Thia boxer that she started going to Forsyth’s Gym in Hamilton to help improve her punching technique. This is where she met the owner and trainer Stephen Forsyth.

Adele had one exhibition and one professional fight as a Thai boxer, Stephen came along to watch her fight as a professional. It was then that Stephen suggested to Adele that she gave boxing a try; he thought she had a lot of potential.

Adele was at the stage her friends wouldn’t want to come out with her, for obvious reasons. It was at this time Adele seriously assaulted a guy in a nightclub, she could have got a jail sentence, but got a Police tag strapped to her ankle and 15 months probation. She was fed up letting her friends down and knew something had to give. Adele took up Stephen’s offer and started attending boxing classes at Forsyth’s Gym.

This was not just a turning point in Adele’s life, it was a god send. She started pushing herself to the limit during training, and then the time came for Adele to step through the ropes for her first fight. Adele had been really nervous on her way to the show, she was under the impression her opponent had no contests, but it turned out she had 2 fights under her belt. While staring across the ring at her opponent Adele had a thought, “She’s built like a tank”, and said to Stephen, “OH MY GOD, I can’t do this...” The nerves were getting the better of her, but as soon as the bell rang she was totally in her comfort zone. The fight was a close one, there was only a point in it, but Stephen felt she had done enough. Adele was awarded the decision by the smallest majority, “In the last minute I caught her with a big uppercut, I think that point won the fight for me”, Adele declared. After the fight Adele was in high spirits, legal ones this time, “I was buzzing, and couldn’t wait for my next fight – I loved it”. Adele was still wearing a Police tag round her ankle during the fight. It was a long time coming but Adele had finally found what she was looking for. A female boxer of African origin was up next for Adele, the venue was Cleland Miners Club, “I was more nervous for this fight. I was excited, felt the pressure and needed to win”. Adele won the fight by 5 points on this occasion, and voiced her thoughts, “Winning is the best feeling in the world”. She then entered the Scottish Novice Championships at Ravenscraig. In the final she fought a boxer called Robin Swan, and dropped her for a count of 8 after 1 minute and 20 seconds of the 1st round. The points scoring were a dead heat, so the judges had to go to count back, and awarded the Gold Medal to Adele by way of majority decision 47-43.  Robin Swan wanted a rematch ASAP, Adele was more than happy to oblige. This time Adele won by a straight win coming by way of a clear majority. Even although Adele’s record read 4 fights 4 wins, she still fell into the novice category. However, this year she jumped up in class and fought in the Scottish Open Class Championships. In the semi-finals Adele was drawn against a boxer called Natalie McKay, this was just a random name to Adele at the time. She felt as though she made a big mistake by looking at Natalie’s record card. Everywhere she looked the words TEAM SCOTLAD were jumping out at her. Natalie had been representing the Scottish National Squad. Adele’s curiosity handed the psychological advantage to her opponent. It was a close fight that went to the scorecards, Adele lost by a minimal margin of 2 points, “This fight was a learning curve for me, I learned a lot from it. Natalie is one of the best boxers in Scotland, and in hindsight I wish I hadn’t looked at her record”. Adele had fought her last 2 fights with a broken nose, “I didn’t even know, I got an operation in July to fix it. I’ve been out for two and a half months, but I’m back now”. 

Stephen Forsyth has been a huge influence on Adele, who says, “He believes in me, I would not be where I am today if it were not for Stephen. He’s been a huge help, and so have all the guys at the club”. Adele spars with all the guys at the club, her theory is, “I like to spar with all the big heavy guys, because no lassie is going to hit you as hard as they do”.

Adele trains 6 days a week, and takes a Saturday off. Her training includes strength and conditioning, sparring and pad work. Adele is currently being sponsored by her dads business Paintpot Decorators; she has also had a few offers from people wishing to sponsor her privately.

Mike Tyson was Adele’s favourite boxer growing up, currently its WBO World Lightweight Champion Ricky Burns, whom she would love to meet. Adele met my dad Ken Buchanan in February, because he fought way back in the 60’s and 70’s she did have to check the internet to find out more about him, “It was brilliant to meet a guy like that, my dad is a massive fan”. Adele has a few favourite boxing films such as, Million Dollar Baby, The Fighter and her favourite is Rocky IV, “I like when Rocky beats the Russian, because he thinks he’s impossible to beat”.

Adele has never been in trouble since she started boxing. These days she likes to train through the day and chill out at night. She is now getting more recognition for being a successful boxer opposed to the lassie who got barred from all the pubs. Adele is an inspiration to all the boxers at the club, her friends included. She got good standard grades at the school, and passed higher grades also. Adele is currently studying Psychology at University.

Adele would like to thank everyone for their support, and a big thanks to Stephen and everyone at the club.

When Adele hears the bell ring she’s buzzing with excitement, full of adrenalin, heart pumping, and ready to go. In so many ways you could say, Adele was Saved By The Bell.

I’ll leave the last words to Adele, “I love boxing; I’m good at it, and I want to become a Professional”.

By Raymond Fraser Buchanan

Stephanie Kernachan is a female boxer from Motherwell who fights out of Newharthill Amateur Boxing Club in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. She has won the Scottish Title twice in the last 3 years, and has her sights set on securing a place in the Woman’s Boxing Team that will compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014.

From as far back as the 18th and 19th Century boxing (fisticuffs/milling) was used to settle disputes between honourable men, it was the number 1 sport in the Western world - including England. It is known as the Noble Art, and regarded as the ‘Sport of Gentleman’.

In Scotland, I first noticed women coming into boxing gyms in the early 80’s; it was difficult to take them seriously back then, but times have changed. Women’s Boxing is now an Olympic Sport, and if anyone watched the boxing at London 2012 you would agree that the standard and quality of boxing displayed by the women was phenomenal, it made me a believer.

Stephanie’s dad was born in Inverness, her mum hailed from Leith in the Capital City of Edinburgh, but the family home derived from Castlemilk in Glasgow, this is where Stephanie grew up. “I used to get bullied at primary school, my big sister Laura would stick up for me. All my report cards would say I was very quiet, a bit of a loner”, Stephanie said. She was brought up in a big close-knit family comprising of 4 big sisters, 2 big brothers, and 2 little brothers. Regarding the situation, she summed it up in one word, “Mental”. The family home moved to another part of Glasgow called Toryglen, where the trend of bullying continued. Stephanie particularly remembers standing up for herself, a girl was kicking her under the desk in the classroom that ended up a fight at the bus stop, “I remember the girl getting on the same bus, I had a burst lip, and I tried not to cry”. Everything dramatically changed when the family moved to Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, “I fitted in nice here, a new start for us, kept my head down and never got bullied”.

Gymnastics, taekwondo, swimming, Stephanie tried a number of sports, “It got to the point I could not afford the uniform”, she went on to say, “I looked up my nearest boxing gym and e-mailed them for details. I received an e-mail back inviting me to go up with an adult”. Boxing lessons were going to cost £1 a night, and she didn’t have to splash out on a fancy uniform. Stephanie’s mum and dad were against her going to boxing, especially her dad. However, Stephanie’s mum let her go to boxing training with her big sister Laura behind her dads back for a few weeks. She started training 2 weeks before her 15th birthday, and her dad began to wonder where she was going every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Stephanie got her first fight on a Newarthill ABC home show, “Everything was a blur, I was not thinking, it was full steam ahead”, Stephanie wasn’t happy with her performance, she put a lot of thought into whether she was doing the right thing – it’s understandable why she felt that way. She stopped her next opponent in the second round and was invited to a Girls Box Cup in Germany, Newarthill ABC covered the expenses for this trip. After 2 consecutive wins Stephanie returned to Scotland with the Gold Medal. Stephanie racked up another 2 wins before heading to Sweden for another Box Cup where she fought her way to the final, this time returning with a silver medal.

It was the Time Capsule in Coatbridge where Stephanie fought for her first Scottish title, “I had beaten the girl before, it was my first proper title, and I was really scared she would beat me. I had stepped up my training, and the atmosphere was amazing. I got to pick my own music for my introduction into the ring, Kanye West, ‘Stronger’, this got me going. The lyrics were telling me I’m better, faster and stronger”. Stephanie won her first Scottish Title 13-2 on points. A year later Stephanie was making the first defence of her Scottish Title against a girl she knew nothing about, the girl had been hyped up, and the fear factor began to creep in, “I really wanted to keep the title, and the pressure was on, it was a straight final”. Stephanie stuck to boxing, never got involved in a scrap, and won the Scottish Flyweight Title for the second year on the trot by a score of 11-8. In March this year, Stephanie was due to make the 3rd defence of her Scottish Flyweight Title, “I felt like a dead battery, no nerves, and no feelings at all. I had not fought for 9 months since I lost at Haringey, my sister Laura had been with me throughout my whole boxing journey, she was trying her best to motivate me”. Stephanie lost her Scottish Title that day; a boxer at any level thrives on nerves, it keeps them sharp – but Stephanie felt nothing.  

Stephanie is 21 years old and has been boxing for 6 years; she started working at the Premier inn when she was 16, doing the nightshift on the reception desk. She started her shift at 10.30pm, returning home at 8.30am in the morning, after a wee bite to eat before going to sleep she would wake up and go to the boxing gym, then the cycle would begin again. Stephanie has only boxed 6 times in Scotland so the extra cash would help pay for expenses to go to tournaments out-with her native Scotland.

In the early days at Newarthill, Stephanie was the only female boxer. The boxing club was old school, and they tried putting her off using rigorous training sessions, but it only made Stephanie more determined to succeed. Stephanie was just not going to go away, the club decided she was serious and started training her properly, “After 3 years they built me a shower, toilet and changing room, there’s more girls at the club now since the Olympics”.

It was my dad who had the honour of opening Newarthill ABC back in 1980; the club has produced a wealth of boxers since, and is regarded as one of the best boxing clubs in Scotland.

After losing her Scottish Title in March Stephanie seriously gave thought to giving up the sport she loved.  Newarthill amateur coach Stevie Newns has been instrumental in guiding Stephanie to success over the years, “Stevie is more than a boxing coach, he’s someone you can talk to about anything, and the one person who has always believed in me 100%”, Stephanie explained. Stevie Newns re-told a story to Stephanie regarding a book he read about a former World Boxing Champion, the Fleetwood Assassin Jane Couch, and Stephanie drew great inspiration from Stevie’s rendition. She saw a chance of redeeming her mishap in the Scottish Finals by entering the prestigious Haringey Box Cup that took place at the Alexandra Palace in London in June. Haringey is the club that first female Olympic Champion Nicola Adams fights out of; both Nicola and Irelands Olympic Champion Katie Taylor have boxed in this event. Stevie worked relentlessly with Stephanie on a new style, also implementing a new technique to her punches.  It was a big boost for Stephanie that Morton’s Rolls generously sponsored her, “This made me believe that someone actually thought I could be good”. 

Stephanie arrived at the Alexandra Palace in London only to be informed there was nobody to fight in the 51kg Flyweight category. She was offered the chance of a straight final at 54kg in the Bantamweight division that had an additional 3lb allowance; therefore her opponent could be up to 10 pound heavier in weight. Stephanie had not travelled 400 miles for nothing, so she jumped at the chance. Then she found out her opponent was 5 times ABA Champion Jenna Reilly, a formidable force to be reckoned with.  

Jenna Reilly looked an imposing figure standing next to Stephanie, she overshadowed her in height and build.

Jenna Reilly, England V Stephanie Kernachan, Scotland

As the bell sounded for round 1 Kernachen looked eager, but it was Reilly who was putting the punches together, a solid overhand right from Kernachan rocked back the head of Reilly, the last right hand of a four punch combination clipped Reilly again. Reilly seemed to effortlessly throw a mass of punches throughout the round that were not all necessarily hitting the target, Kernachen was picking her shots. An exchange of punches heralded the start of the round 2, Kernachen was beginning to get in the driving seat landing the cleaner punches, pushing Reilly back, stalking her opponent, bang on the money with a good right and a cracking left hook. Kernachen had Reilly against the ropes bringing in uppercuts and hooks, Kernachen finished the round using a straight left-right with pinpoint accuracy, there was little response from Reilly. Kernachan stepped up another gear in the 3rd; a straight right jerked Reilly’s head back. Kernachen was now dominating the fight, letting her punches flow like a river, notably landing a hard left hook. Reilly tried to fight back but looked jaded, and yearning for the bell. Kernachan finished the round strongly with a stiff jab, working to the head and body followed by a combination of straight punches.

There was 5 ringside judges, 4 of them awarded the contest to Stephanie Kernachan who won by a majority of 4-1.

This was a big step in the right direction for Stephanie; I asked her thoughts, “I knew I had won, you just know, I was really hungry to win, and I treated it like my last chance”. Stephanie was also thankful to former Great Britain Team representative Nina Smith for taking her to one side and giving her pointers throughout.

Stephanie mostly spars with boys at Newarthill that include professionals like Gerry Brady, Danny Brady and Scottish Middleweight Champion Garry McCallum - she laughed while saying she takes it easy on Gary. I tried in vain to get her to pick a favourite Rocky movie, “Don’t really know, I like them all”. She did express her love for the boxing film Cinderella Man, it’s about a seemingly washed up journeyman James Braddock who gets a shot at the World Title against a brutal punching Max Baer (Who killed 2 men in the ring) Braddock defeats the virtually unbeatable Baer and becomes the Heavyweight Champion of the World. Stephanie’s biggest inspiration in life is her big sister Laura, “She has been there for me every step of the way”. Her all-time favourite boxer is Scottish Amateur Champion Charlie Flynn, “I wanted to box like him, he’s a smart boxer, and he used to fight for Newarthill”.

Stevie Newns informed me that Glasgow Company Morton’s Rolls have been back down to the club with more funding for Stephanie. She is currently over in Ireland for a month because there are more female boxers to spar with; this is all part of her preparation for selection to compete at Glasgow 2014. Stephanie’s emphatic win at Haringey doesn’t score any points with Boxing Scotland, but winning 2 of the last three Scottish Titles at Flyweight must go a long way to help her plight in securing a place in the team.

Regarding the Commonwealth games in Glasgow 2014, Stephanie told me, “It would be a dream come true”, but that dream come true is also her Burning Ambition.

By Raymond Fraser Buchanan