Doctors told Laura Pain, now 24, that she would never walk again when she was a toddler.
Laura’s parents Caroline, 55, and Kevin, 56 were told by doctors when she was two years old that she had been diagnosed with a condition called bilateral dislocation of the hips.
But their daughter had an adventurous spirit and at two began to pull herself out of her wheelchair and practiced walking until she could do it.
At eight years old Laura fell in love with boxing but was forced to quit kickboxing because of her hips.
That didn’t keep the spunky eight-year-old down and she took up boxing. She trained hard and recently won the super flyweight belt by knockout in the first round.
Laura, whose day job is being a personal trainer said the win, “feels amazing – it’s a massive achievement!”
“I was speechless when I won, and so excited and happy, I’ve never felt like that before. I knew as soon as I agreed the fight that I was making history, and that felt fantastic,” she added.
“It was brilliant, I knew I just had to win. I had no fear, I just gave it everything I had,” the new champ said. “Normally I’d take a couple of rounds to suss out my opponent, but I just went for it with both hands and just didn’t stop.”
Laura trains four times a week and doctors remained concerned but her annual checkup shows her hips haven’t affected her ability to fight.
“I always knew my career would be in sports. I’m always the first to arrive at training and the last to leave,” Laura said. “Boxing is like an escape from everything else – you have to keep your focus or you’ll be hit. I help loads of people now who want to gain confidence or are being bullied in school.”
