THERE are few acts braver than a boxer willingly stepping into the ring knowing the physical ordeal that lies ahead.
Even that pales into insignificance, however, compared to the bottle needed for a teenage girl to wander alone into a gym in Glasgow and insist she wants to fight with the boys.
Cassidy Todd has not only done that but survived and thrived. The 22-year-old has now made history by becoming the first woman to sign with the renowned St Andrew’s Sporting Club, making her also the first Glaswegian female professional boxer.
Turning pro marks the midpoint of a career that began with her “getting a doing” from battle-hardened men during sparring sessions and that will, all being well, eventually lead to her becoming a world champion Todd’s is a heart-warming story of persistence and courage. Her step-dad is Craig Docherty, the former Commonwealth champion, but when she turned up unannounced at the door of Kelvin ABC gym in Govanhill as a 16-year-old there was nobody there to hold her hand.