Stacey Hangs Up The Gloves

Professional boxer Stacey Copeland has announced her retirement from competitive sport.

Stacey, from Hyde, made the announcement via Twitter on Monday evening and has since been inundated with well wishes and messages of appreciation for her role in helping to fight for gender equality in sport.

As well as becoming the first British woman to win the Commonwealth title in 2018, Stacey has also packed a punch outside the ring and given knockout, motivational speeches to school children and aspiring athletes in Tameside and the surrounding areas.

As part of her aim to fight for gender equality in sport, Stacey founded the Pace The Way project, which was launched in 2017 and has since grown from strength-to-strength.

In April 2020, Stacey gave a TEDx talk at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, about her experiences in football and boxing, and the Pave The Way charity.

Such was her impact within the local community, Stacey became a Running Bee Foundation ambassador in 2019 and regulary attended events such as the Tour of Tameside, where she was spotted cheering participants on from the sidelines.

In her official statement, Stacey outlined the reasons for her retirmenet: “The time has come for me to return from competitive sport. This most definitely is not on my terms, but my body cannot overcome the damage done over the years, last May I was on crutches for the third time in 12 months and the doctors confirmed my worst fears. Surgery lays ahead to help me long term but meanwhile I need to look after my body for once. I’ve been waiting to feel ‘ready’ to post about retiring, and that feeling definitely hasn’t come but I do need to let everyone know, plus it’s time for me to accept it and look ahead.

“I had dreams left to fulfil, which I fully believed I could accomplish and wanted with every bit of me, so it’s a horrible feeling to have to stop, and sport is the part of me that I don’t yet know how to live happily without, it just feels like a massive void I’ll never fill, but this comes to every athlete and all chapters must end for new ones to begin.”

Following her announcement, several high profile figures and organisations, including BBC Radio Manchester, where Stacey presents, sent well wishes. England Boxing tweeted: "Wishing @scopelandboxer all the best following her retirement from the ring. A real trailblazer for women's boxing, she won three national amateur titles for @BredburyABC before becoming the first British female professional Commonwealth champion. That's not to mention her role continually and proactively championing boxing for women as a real ambassador for the sport. Good luck, Stacey, in whatever comes next for you." 

Picture: Stacey with coach, Blain Younis