TARA J HAMERManager & Ring Girl At T&S Promotions by

Ralph Oates

abroad would certainly be something for us to look into in the near future, that would be an amazing experience.

Ralph Oates

Have you attended many world boxing title fights?

Tara J Hamer

Yes, I have. Tyson Fury Vs Dillian Whyte at Wembley on the 23rd April 2022. Tyson Fury ended it in the 6th round with an uppercut.

Ralph Oates

How long have you been interested in boxing?

Tara J Hamer

In this month’s boxing column I interviewed Tara J Hamer who very kindly gave her time to answer various aspects on the sport.

Ralph Oates

In which part of Wales were you born?

Tara J Hamer

I was born in South Wales, Caerphilly.

Ralph Oates

In which capacity are you involved in boxing?

Tara J Hamer

I manage our ring girls at T&S Promotions alongside my work partner/manager and close friend Sophie Hoyle. Sophie and I also ring girl and hostess at various fights and boxing events across the UK.

Ralph Oates

How long have you been working in this capacity?

Tara J Hamer

We have been working in this capacity for around 6 years. Prior to working for ourselves we gained close relationships with different promoters. We started off working at much smaller events and have worked some charity events as ring girls. It is always important to help raise money for a good cause.

Ralph Oates

How many fights have you attended?

Tara J Hamer

I’m unsure exactly how many fights that I’ve attended in total over the years but there has definitely been quite a few. Many of these fights would be a night that I’m working the actual boxing event.

Ralph Oates

Have you had many boxing engagements abroad?

Tara J Hamer

We haven’t worked overseas as of yet but taking our work

Boxing has been an interest of mine for a number of years, I just love the sport! the hard work and dedication that goes into boxing itself is admirable.

Ralph Oates

What drew you to the sport of boxing?

Tara J Hamer

I think looking back maybe watching the Rocky box set over and over. I just absolutely loved boxing, (quite possibly as well as having a soft spot for A J haha). I genuinely just enjoy the sport and love getting involved when working events. If I’m not working then I also love watching the fights on TV, I get all excited.

Ralph Oates

At the moment the rounds in women’s professional boxing lasts for the duration or two minutes while the men’s last three minutes. Do you feel the rounds of women’s boxing should be increased to three or stay as they are at two minutes.

Tara J Hamer

That is a very difficult one to answer as I’m sure there are valid reasons on both sides. If I had to say I think maybe keep things as they are for women boxing at 2 minute rounds. They say things have been scientifically tested for safety purposes. Some of the reasons being to do with a woman’s bone structure, it’s proven that 80% of women have more concussion probability than men, and that if a woman has concussion their after symptoms are much stronger. Therefore fighting another minute I feel could potentially cause more punches to the head, even a KO could happen in that extra time which could go on to cause severe concussion. Also, their menstrual cycle is said to have a big impact on women fighting due to 12 different hormones which act in the body system, creating radical changes in several areas. I can also totally understand why on the other hand people disagree and feel that it should be equal and fair in the sport, just like other sports between a male and female they are both the same. Women also train hard so they are more than capable of going all 3 minutes as they would have done this whilst they were at amateur boxing level. My choice in this matter would simply be to stick to the 2 minute rounds just for the woman’s safety as certain things have been proven.

Ralph Oates

Which is your favourite weight division?

Tara J Hamer

My favourite weight division would probably be welterweight. It’s the most competitive weight in boxing and you can’t beat watching two competitive boxers fight.

Ralph Oates

Who is your favourite male boxer?

Tara J Hamer

My favourite all-time would be Muhammad Ali. If we’re talking more current day it would be Tyson Fury, he’s a great fighter.

Ralph Oates

Who is your favourite female boxer?

Tara J Hamer

My favourite would have to be our gold medallist and one of the most recent women to turn professional in the boxing world, Lauren Price. I know Lauren really well, I have to say she has always worked so incredibly hard to be where she is today, she’s definitely one to watch.

Ralph Oates

Who do you feel in the history of boxing is the best world heavyweight champion?

Tara J Hamer

Mike Tyson (Nicknamed - Iron Mike) and Muhammad Ali.

Ralph Oates

What was the best world heavyweight title you have seen?

Tara J Hamer

Muhammad Ali Vs (Smokin) Joe Frazier, 1st October 1975. What a brutal fight that was.

Ralph Oates

Who at the moment do you feel has the potential to become a future championship in the UK?

Tara J Hamer

I feel that an upcoming future champion could be Kyran Jones. He’s an absolute fabulous boxer. Hard working and completely dedicated to the sport 100%. He’s currently working his way through the ranks of boxing and hasn’t yet lost a fight in his new professional career. Kyran has a huge talent within boxing and shows this when he is fighting inside the ring. Most definitely one to watch out for.

Ralph Oates

Have any members of your family ever boxed?

Tara J Hamer

Yes, both of my first cousins have boxed and thus taken part in a couple fights.

Ralph Oates

Which do you prefer, amateur or professional boxing?

Tara J Hamer

I think both are amazing but for me it has to be professional boxing.

Ralph Oates

At the moment there are four major world boxing organisations WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO. Do you feel boxing would be better having just one organisation? Or do you see an advantage in there being four?

Tara J Hamer

I do see pros and cons to both. There has been sanctioning bodies for decades and I don’t think this will change anytime soon. There are internal disagreements and conflict between the organisers of the sport. Some say the sport is corrupt. It’s hard to say which of the two would be better. In the future all major sanctioning bodies/ organisations may collaborate into working together more closely in order to reduce a lot of the politics in boxing.

Ralph Oates

Do you have a favourite boxing film?

Tara J Hamer

Yes I do, the all-time favourite being the Rocky films which of course starred Sylvester Stallone in the title role. I absolutely love to watch them.

Ralph Oates

What are your future ambitions?

Tara J Hamer

My future ambitions with our team would be as mentioned earlier in the interview, to look at approaching boxing promoters for work abroad - this would be amazing for us girls. We are completely hard working and dedicated in what we do, and to be able to expend that and venture out even more would just be amazing. We are more than happy to travel around the world if the opportunity arose. We also want to look at working towards more sporting events in general, we have already worked events with Tony Bellew and a night with Frank Bruno back last year. This year we have an evening with Joe Calzaghe next month and moving into July we have an event with Ricky Hatton. It would be amazing to be able to work even more of these big events alongside more big names. We love socialising and getting the opportunities to meet these talented role models within the sporting industry.

I would like to thank both Ralph Oates and Cardiff Times for taking the time to interview me and ask me these different questions relating to boxing. It’s been an absolute pleasure.

Image: Courtesy of Tara J Hamer