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Ex-Olympic taekwondo champion Jones wins on boxing debut

Double Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones marked her boxing debut with a second-round knockout victory against Egypt Criss in Derby.

After two decades in taekwondo, Wales' Jones traded sports at the start of last year saying she needed a fresh challenge, setting herself a bold target of becoming a world champion in two sports.

Her maiden bout came against Criss, daughter of hip-hop stars Anthony 'Treach' Criss from Naughty by Nature and Sandra 'Pepa' Denton from Salt-N-Pepa.

Jones, who won Olympic gold in London 2012 and Rio 2016, needed only two rounds to claim victory, with three successive left hooks flooring her opponent.

The 32-year-old from Flint has been training with former professional boxer Stephen 'Swifty' Smith at Liverpool's iconic 4 Corners Gym.

Jones has also taken inspiration from former room-mate, unified world boxing champion Lauren Price, who played football for Wales in addition to being a kickboxer and taekwondo player, prior to her own switch to boxing.

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Jade Jones: Boxing the 'fresh start needed' after taekwondo career

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