Debut win for Luton’s ‘Burmese Python’ in the ring

Lutonian Nicola Barke, otherwise known as the ‘Burmese Python’, made a winning start to her professional boxing career in Maidstone, Kent last weekend.

The 28-year-old was up against Tereza Dvorakova, Czech Republic’s top girl in the 140lb weight division, over a six-round contest, as she came out on top by a unanimous points decision of 60-54.

Dvorakova had come to fight, which made for an exciting bout that was dubbed ‘fight of the night’ by spectators.

Barke landed a solid shot in the opening round, causing damage to her opponents’ nose as the bout had to be paused intermittently to address the bleed before resuming.

The Burmese Python boxed with aggression leading to victory in an impressive debut outing as she is now ranked 25th worldwide in her weight division in female boxing by BoxRec.

Speaking afterwards, she said: “I am beyond blessed to have such a formidable team, that are essentially my second family.

“A special thank you to my dream team; coach, Terry Steward; manager, Victor Smith; corner team, Ellis Steward; mum and my fighting brothers at Essex Fight Academy.

“Finally a big thank you to my sponsors Wow Hydrate and 360 Sports TV for making the fight possible and supporting my dream.”