Gazing upon the seemingly endless landscape in Luss, Scotland, it’s hard to imagine a gruelling female athlete punching for pay. The picturesque village and its rolling hills were far more aligned to farming and traditional bed and breakfasts.
After travelling to New York to face off with WBA super-middleweight champion Alicia Napoleon, classical musician Hannah Rankin (5-2, 1KOs) once again finds space in the pages of her passport to approach her toughest challenge. When speaking exclusively to Boxing Social, she opened up on her fight with double Olympic gold medalist and reigning two-weight World champion – Claressa Shields.
“I feel excited about the opportunity! I said I’d be happy to fight her because everyone else seemed to be avoiding her. If you’re a fighter, you should want to fight and test yourself against the best in the game – so that’s what I’m doing!”
Rankin, dubbed the ‘Classical Warrior’ for her expertise with the bassoon, has been no stranger to welcoming the steepest hurdles. She turned to boxing after dabbling with a few different martial arts, following the death of her mother at a young age. Through a chance meeting in a gym in London, she decided to link up with Noel Callan, a novice trainer who’d been looking to prove his worth in the corner.

Callan’s work with Hannah has been exceptional. He’s taken a white collar fighter from a hobby to consecutive World title tilts and the pair have travelled far-and-wide, fighting in Norway, New York and of course, their upcoming bout in Kansas. Their approach to sparring has been heralded as the pair have also taken themselves to deepest Ukraine for sessions with Cecilia Braekhus – currently undisputed champion and the World’s greatest female fighter.
She admitted, “Not having a big promoter has forced me to go about my career the hard way. I’ve already fought on two World title bills before this one and these have all played a part in developing my experience at the highest level of boxing. The opportunity has come to test myself against the best – why shouldn’t I take it?”
“I’ve got to the point where I’m about to fight on one of the biggest platforms in the World and fight for the unified middleweight World titles, by sheer determination and lots of support from my team, my friends and my family. The goal is to win that World title and become Scotland’s first female World champion!”

Rankin is aware she’s a massive underdog moving into the bout with ‘T-Rex’, but was buoyed by the significance of three-weight World champion Ricky Burns on the card, also. From humble beginnings himself, Ricky scaled boxing’s heights on some memorable nights in Glasgow and thrived when faced with the possibility of over-achieving.
Of Shields, the subject of a Netflix documentary and mass-media coverage in the United States, Hannah told me she felt unfazed. Respectful and taking nothing for granted, she knew it would be her hardest contest, yet explained the thought process behind signing the contract.
“You can’t deny her achievements in the sport and I respect what she’s achieved so far, definitely. But, I’m not looking at her like a superstar. She’s just another boxer and on the seventeenth of November, it’s only us two in the ring.”
“Obviously there’s no substitute for the experience of going ten rounds in a World title fight, so that’s something I have to my advantage. I learnt a lot from my last fight, about myself, and I’ve improved the things I wanted to during this camp. I’m faster, stronger and fitter than I was for my fight with [Alicia] Napoleon, and you’ll see that on fight night!”
Hannah Rankin has went from being the only child in her entire year at school, to being the only woman willing to fight a dangerous, unbeaten champion. Both instances of isolation require immense focus and determination, yet this exam will be completed with the boxing World watching.
Written by Craig Scott