Bouttell braced for boos against Hennessy

Underdog Ellie Bouttell said she would not be surprised if she is “booed” by fans in her fight against Francesca Hennessy as both women made weight for Saturday’s world-title eliminator.

The unbeaten pair will contest an all-British main event at London’s Copper Box Arena, which will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Bouttell, who now lives in Shanghai, weighed in at 8st 5lb (53.3 kg), followed by Sevenoaks fighter Hennessy, who tipped the scales at 8st 5.6lb (53.5 kg).

“I think both of us will be quick to get started. I respect her speed. I’m not going to be surprised if I get booed,” Bouttell, 29, said.

Hennessy, 21, who will be appearing in her first main event, promised a career-best display.

“Every time I am levelling up. I feel you will see the best of me on Saturday night,” she said.

Gradus Kraus and opponent Boris Crighton, who will contest the co-main event, also successfully weighed in for their light-heavyweight bout.

Dutchman Kraus, 24, is tipped for big things by promoter Ben Shalom and has stopped eight of his nine opponents so far.

He weighed in at 12st 6.8lb (79.4 kg), while Scotland’s Crighton – who has lost six of his 21 professional bouts – weighed 12st 6lb (79.1 kg).

A Cambridge University graduate who was born in Nottingham and now lives and trains in China, Boutell first moved to Beijing as a teenager to live with her father after what she describes as a difficult adolescence in the UK.

“Like a lot of kids, I wasn’t sure about my place in the world and I used to act out a lot,” she told BBC World Service’s More Than The Score podcast on Tuesday.

“Looking back, I was just under-stimulated. I didn’t find school challenging and I had lots of excess energy that ended up in not great behaviour.”

Bouttell says her “behaviour problems disappeared”, though she admits she still longed for familiar comforts. “I missed Greggs,” she adds.

Her love of the Chinese language earned her a place at Cambridge, where she initially focused on powerlifting before discovering boxing in her final year.

After graduating, Boutell returned to China to teach English and settled in Shanghai. There, she met the coach who now trains her professionally and entered white-collar boxing.

Bouttell turned professional and has fought seven times in China and once in Thailand.

Having only competed a handful of times in the UK as an amateur, Bouttell is looking forward to her “homecoming” bout.

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