Frank Sinatra-fuelled Lucy Kings-Wheatley kept her nerves at bay to ensure she did it her way in reaching the quarter-finals of the women's 60kg competition at the Commonwealth Games.
Kings-Wheatley was in complete control as she defeated Papua New Guinea’s Petronella Nokenoke in a unanimous points decision.
It was the perfect start for the Birmingham boxer, who faces Sierra Leone's Josefien Betist in the last eight on Tuesday evening and admitted there were a few nerves ahead of her Commonwealth Games debut.
But the 23-year-old relished them with her usual pre-match ritual of listening to music – even if her song choice is not the classic pre-fight hype song.
“I listen to a bit of everything,” she said. “I've listened to quite a bit of Frank Sinatra this week. It's nice and slow. Sometimes I'll get a bit of rap on as well. I just try to mix it up.
“I just listen to music before I get in the ring, tell myself what I want to do in there, tell myself I'm going for gold, and just keep my confidence up.
“I sort of just embrace the nerves. I think they're fuel. You can either have them defeat you or have them bring you up to the next level, and that's what they do for me.”
Kings-Wheatley produced a fast start to take control of the fight but had to adjust when her opponent switched to a southpaw stance in the second round.
The Papua New Guinean started to swing in search of a stoppage, but Kings-Wheatley kept her head to avoid doing Somethin' Stupid and progress to the next round.
“In the first round we got the rhythm going and got the count in the first round,” she said.
“Then she switched to southpaw and I came back to the corner and was like, it's confusing me a little bit. Graham, my coach, just said to keep calm, keep being hungry.
“A stoppage could have happened, but I didn't want to rush my feet or mess up my work. Graham just said, ‘Keep calm, don't try and force the stoppage. Just get through the bout and get the experience.’”
Kings-Wheatley is making her Commonwealth debut at Glasgow 2026 and is loving the experience that will last at least one more fight in the women’s 60kg competition.
She said: “I was super nervous going into it, but got some good work done and got a little bit of confidence.
“Spending time with the England team, being in the village, being introduced first and boxing out in the red corner, it was amazing.
“I have just going to keep that momentum going now. Keep being explosive in there, keep in my rhythm.
“My best work comes out when I'm enjoying myself, keeping it flowing and not overthinking.”
James Reid/Sportsbeat 2026
