27 Regiment LCpl Chez Nihell made his professional debut at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday 23 Feb 2019 winning 39-37 on points against opponent Kent Kauppinen (2-8).
The Army Sportsman of the Year 2018 fought his way to victory over his opponent during four three-minute rounds at the cruiserweight limit contest.
The Isle of Wight-born boxer told British Boxing News post-fight, “What a night! What an experience for my debut, it was unreal.”
“Shout out to my opponent Kent Kauppinen a dangerous opponent for my first fight. The last round, he really brought the fight, it was a good intro to the pro ranks. No push overs. Starting off as we mean to carry on!”
Husband and wife team
LCpl Chez Nihell has been part of the Army Elite Boxing set-up since 2013. He unified English titles as an amateur and won the Armed Forces regional championships six years in a row and the Haringey Box Cup from 2015-2018 at two different weights.
His wife Cpl Alanna Nihell is also a serving soldier with 27 Regt, as well as being a multiple amateur boxing national champion. She has previously won three ABA lightweight titles, a Commonwealth Games bronze medal in 2014 and was the first female ever to captain the Army Elite Boxing Team.
“You can’t compare the feeling, boxing is a raw sport, you either win where you’re on top of the world or you lose and you feel like you’re down in the gutter,” said Chez.
“In all honesty I thought it would take me a couple of years to work up to a show like this so the fact I had my debut on a packed card at the O2 is awesome.”
Pics: Team Nihell
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