How an inspiring home video launched a main event fighter

From egg-slaps to tables being hurled, boxing rarely struggles for viral moments. Every now and then, though, one cuts through for very different reasons.

Promoter Mick Hennessy dusted off a camcorder, took his daughter to the running track and filmed her going around at her own pace. Francesca Hennessy, nine years old and a little overweight, kept running.

“Go on, champ,” Mick encouraged as she began her eighth lap.

The video – viewed more than four million times on Instagram – then fast-forwards more than a decade to a fit, athletic Francesca sprinting on the track and, moments later, slipping and sliding shots as an unbeaten bantamweight contender.

Boxing royalty such as Laila Ali were moved by the video, as fathers spoke of watching it in tears and young prospects said it gave them belief.

The impact stretched even further, taking Francesca to the Houses of Parliament, where she was invited by Chris Webb MP to speak about the positive role boxing can play in the lives of young people.

Standing in the corridors of power, she advocated for boxing as a tool for social change, sharing her own journey from insecure schoolgirl to a role model for the next generation.

“I just want young boys and girls to know that they can do whatever they want to do. They can succeed no matter where they are in life,” she tells BBC Sport.

“I want them to believe in themselves and kind of get that from my story because I’ve been that young, insecure girl who didn’t believe in herself.”

At just 21, however, Francesca’s story is far from finished.

On Saturday, live on BBC Two, she faces Ellie Bouttell in a WBC title eliminator. The winner will become mandatory challenger for the WBC belt held by undisputed bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson.

From sparring in hallways to learning the craft

Francesca Hennessy was introduced to the sport by her father, boxing promoter Mick Hennessy [Boxxer]

Born in Sevenoaks in Kent, Francesca and her brother Michael Hennessy Jr – who also became a professional boxer – grew up with a father who lived and breathed the sport.

With a keen eye for unearthing talent, Mick guided Tyson Fury and Carl Froch from their debuts to their first world titles.

“Boxing was just something that has always been there in my life,” Francesca says, recalling how she would light up when strangers would recognise her dad in restaurants and out in public.

“When I was four, we’d be in the hallway sparring because my dad would just leave gloves around that fighters would have.”

She followed her dad from gym to gym, quietly learning the craft from the sidelines. Francesca pleaded with Mick to let her box and, aged 11, found her moment when a girl in a gym needed a sparring partner.

“My dad was like, ‘You haven’t got a head guard.’ I pulled the head guard out of my bag. ‘You haven’t got a gum shield?’ Pulled the gum shield out of my bag,” she says.

“I did really well that day sparring. So, from then onwards, my dad was like, ‘Yeah, do you know what? She loves it so we’ll let her box.”

How boxing helped with struggles in school

Francesca Hennessy is trained by former British and Commonwealth welterweight champion Bradley Skeete [Boxxer]

Francesca Hennessy and Bradley Skeete pose at a media day — Francesca Hennessy is trained by former British and Commonwealth welterweight champion Bradley Skeete [Boxxer]

Francesca acknowledges that body-image struggles don’t simply disappear but says that boxing helped her lose weight and build confidence.

“I was very insecure when I was younger. I was insecure about my weight and I feel that encouraged me to be a bit of a class clown at school,” she says. “I’d be always the one making jokes and things like that.”

She was able to “de-stress” in the boxing gym after school, but there were other challenges to overcome too.

Francesca struggled academically and was diagnosed with dyslexia in her mid-teens. The diagnosis made sense of why boxing felt easier than school.

“I found out quite late on, but I always knew there was something because I didn’t learn in the normal way that other kids would learn,” she says.

“I’m a visual learner. If I’m watching boxing or someone shows me what to do, I can pick it up quickly, but when I’m being told it and it’s going in my ear, I sometimes find that hard to process.”

Is undisputed title shot next?

A two-time national amateur champion, winner of the Women’s Winter Box Cup and Sweden’s Golden Girls Box Cup, Francesca turned professional with Boxxer in August 2023.

Adopting the moniker ‘Billion Dollar Baby’ – a nod to multiple Oscar-winning film Million Dollar Baby, minus the tragedy – she entered the ranks as icons like Katie Taylor and Claressa Shields transformed the landscape of female boxing.

She was especially thrilled to join her hero, two-division champion and former undisputed super-middleweight champion Savannah Marshall, on the professional scene.

Marshall – managed by Francesca’s father Mick – would share tips with the teenager when she was hanging around the gym.

“Even now, I get a bit starstruck around Savannah – from a young age, I’ve always looked up to her,” Francesca says.

She has won fans outside the ring with her likeability, flair and choreographed ring walks, and backed it up inside the ropes with seven straight wins.

“I’m very confident in the way I’m feeling at the minute that no one’s beating me,” she says.

Francesca’s “ultimate dream in boxing is to become a multi-weight undisputed champion”, but must she first overcome Bouttell, a relatively unknown Briton who has spent most of her career fighting in China.

A fight against the tough and experienced Australian Johnson could then catapult Francesca on to the world stage and show that her viral fame is backed by serious boxing ability.

“I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m proud of where I am,” she adds. “And yeah, I’m just going to keep making that young girl proud.”