Making her long-awaited return to the ring, Lucy Wildheart reignited her career with a victory over Spain’s Eva Cantos on Saturday night and kicked off her campaign to a featherweight world title.
The Brentwood-based Swedish fighter took her record to 9-1-0 (4 KOs) with a 59-56 points win over Cantos at Grays Civic Hall and aims to build on her momentum with another fight next month.
Wildheart, 29, in the top ten in the world, takes aim at the winner of the massive featherweight world unification showdown between Amanda Serrano and Sarah Mahfoud next Saturday in Manchester.
With his last fight in August of last year and the inactivity due to management issues now resolved, Wildheart was itching for a test upon his return and the tough, solid Cantos provided it.
From the first bell, Wildheart stamped his front foot authority with a stiff jab and a straight right hand that kept Cantos at bay. Wildheart boxed on command, was quick on her feet and stepped forward to land quick combinations, mixed with some flashy, hard body shots, before moving at angles to win on the referee’s scorecard.
“That’s the job done and on the next one.” Wildheart said. “That was pretty much everything my trainer Samm Mullins and I had been working on together in the gym and I did what he said and executed the strategy perfectly. Cantos was a tough girl and can definitely cause trouble, but I felt completely in control in the ring. It was probably my best fight to date despite being out of the ring for over a year, I felt like I was much better than my last fight. I did a lot of sparring rounds with Ebanie Bridges. [IBF world bantamweight champion] in the preparation for this fight and it definitely benefited me.”
Wildheart will be closely watching the outcome of the Serrano-Mahfoud contest and will be poised and ready to meet the winner if called upon, but she has a penchant for Danish rival Mahfoud that could lead to an explosive all-Nordic world title. confrontation.
He added: “I can’t wait to see who comes out victorious and I’ll be happy to face whoever wins. Of course, if Mahfoud wins, then it would be a gigantic Sweden-Denmark clash that would be a massive sporting event for both nations. I have a few fights scheduled for the next few weeks so it’s great to be active again and now I’m fully focused on getting my world title shot.”
Trainer Samm Mullins added: “I left delighted with Lucy’s performance and we are ready to go again. She is a strong and aggressive boxer, but we have been working a lot on new technical things in the gym before her return and she worked very well. Santos was a tough opponent, but Lucy got it with her feet, head movement and body shots from her. We have much more to come and now it is about activity and continuous improvement.”
Wildheart’s new manager, Richard Maynard, CEO of Strike Sports Management, said: “It was great to see Lucy back in the ring and resume her career with a win over a tough, tough opponent in Cantos. I was very impressed with her jab, her quick feet, her head movement and particularly her hurtful body shots. It was as if she hadn’t walked away from the ring. This is a great foundation to build on and I will be looking to get her back in the ring in the coming weeks as she steps up her campaign towards a world title opportunity.”
