An Aberdeen oil worker is looking to lift the world title when she takes to the ring next month.
Undefeated fighter Kristen Fraser will compete against Ellen Simwaka for the Commonwealth bantamweight world title belt in front of a packed audience at the DoubleTree by Hilton Aberdeen Treetops Hotel.
Ms Fraser, who also works as a senior integrity engineer at Wood, said last night she has been waiting her whole life for this moment.
“I can’t actually remember a time when I wasn’t boxing”, she said. “I’ve always been around it and I’ve always enjoyed contact sports.”
Since turning professional, Ms Fraser, 30, has romped to five wins from five fights.
Yet there’s no sense of boxing bravado in her voice when she jokes about her lack of co-ordination in other sports.
She said: “If you throw a ball at me, I’m probably not going to catch it. But somehow boxing just brings something out in me, it feels natural and it works”
For the fight against Ms Simwaka on November 24, Ms Fraser is assured of her abilities in the ring.
She said: “If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t take the fight. The opponent is quite tough but I’m ready for the challenge. I’ve got a good amateur base, I’ve got a good level of experience – I’ve had a lot of fights.”
“I’m sure I’ll bring the title home.”
Ms Fraser has been in the oil and gas sector for seven years.
Asked how she balances a full-time job with professional fighting, she said: “I don’t sleep. I train for an hour an a half every morning, then go to work. I come home and change and then hit the gym for another two and a half hours. And I double that at the weekend. It’s pretty full on.”
As a championship contender, Ms Fraser said it is important “that there’s no cross over” between her day job and her boxing profession.
She added: “Everyone knows I box, but I tend to keep them separate. But it is weird when you come into work and your face is black and blue and everyone treats it like it’s normal.
“With something that’s so heavily physical and you’re pushing your body all the time. It’s good to come into work and work out my brain as well. They compliment each other.”
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