Tell me a little bit about yourself and your passions?
My name is Charlene Jones and I come from a small town in south west Wales called Pembroke Dock, i’m 23 years old and my main passion in life is boxing i’m a welsh international boxer in hope for some big success.
What is it like being a female boxer in the UK and what are your aspirations?
It used to be tough trying to get recognized but now that female boxing has been in the olympics and commonwealth games, it’s getting bigger and bigger. The future is bright for female boxing. My aspirations are to hopefully get into the olympic programme and compete in a future olympics.
Can you discuss the circumstances that led to your career and some challenges you have overcome?
I have always been into sports and my dad was big into his boxing as he used to box himself. I went to the gym with him one night when I was ten and I found that I was a natural. Since then, I haven’t looked back. It’s all I have ever known or done. I can still remember when I was 12 and I wanted to have my first fight it was all lined up but then they brought in a new rule that girls had to be 14 to box. I was so devastated that I had to wait another two years before I could get into the ring.
If you could solve a world problem what would it be?
Definitely poverty.
What advice would you give the youth out there looking to blaze their own path?
I would say to keep focused and never give up. You have failures but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to succeed. Keep your head down and keep working hard. Hard work always pays off and if you have a dream, keep chasing it and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Instead, go out and prove that you can.
Now at UYD, we are always looking to find out different ways people use their difference to make a difference. How do you use your difference to make a difference?
I like to think that I inspire people especially where I live because it’s a small town with hardly any jobs. I like to think that when they look at me and what I have done, that they can go out there and do it too.
Where can we find out more about you and what you’re up to?
I am on social media. You can follow me on Facebook which is just my name. My Twitter is @Charlenejones. I also have an Instagram account where I post a lot of inspirational stuff and that’s charlenejones1405.
You may also go onto www.welshboxing.org and that will tell you up and coming events competitions and results etc.
