Roni Dean said making her professional boxing debut was “unreal” and one that provided valuable learning experience.
The 28-year-old from Norfolk outpointed Slovakia’s Klaudia Ferenczi over six rounds in her first professional fight at York Hall in east London.
Dean overcame an early clash of heads with her opponent to claim victory in front of plenty of local support in Bethnal Green.
“The crowd was amazing, I couldn’t have had better support,” she said.
“I could hear the crowd roaring but when you’re in there, you kind of zone out – but I’m proper proud.
“They’ve come all the way from Thetford and spent their hard-earned money on tickets, and the kids have had time off school.
“Half of them don’t normally watch boxing so it’s special they’ve come to support me. It was unreal to come out to that.”
In the build-up to the fight, super-bantamweight Dean said she wanted to “make a mark” on her debut and she was given an early indication of the tougher demands of the pro game, compared to the amateur ranks.
“There was a headbutt, or clash of heads, in round two and I got a bit frustrated and clouded,” Dean told BBC Radio Norfolk.
“I was trying to keep the jab going but she was coming in with her head and I was getting a bit too angry. [Trainer] Graham [Everett] was trying to calm me down in the corner.
“I’ve never had a nosebleed in the ring before, so it was bit weird dealing with that. It’s one of them that I’ll learn from.”
Dean said she “should’ve boxed a bit longer” but will take plenty of things to work on from the fight.
“It’s good to get those things done in the first few bouts – it’s all learning at the end of the day. She was a really tough girl but I got the win.”
Dean’s trainer Everett said he could not have asked for much more against an opponent who was in their 131st professional bout.
“I’ve seen Klaudia fight a few times and sometimes she’s quite negative but she had a right go at Roni, but I think Roni stung her a couple of times in the first round and made her fight hard,” he said.
“The clash of heads, that made Roni change her mentality, she lost her discipline a little bit and she did get a little bit too involved.
“But it was a great learning fight for her – straight in with a six-rounder. I’ve tried to instil a bit more boxing into her and you saw that in spells. She won every round against a very tough, experienced opponent – we’re really pleased.”
