Lisa Whiteside: 2018 Commonwealth gold medallist wins on professional debut

Lisa Whiteside often played understudy to Nicola Adams in the amateurs

Commonwealth gold medallist Lisa Whiteside made a successful professional debut by beating Danni Hodges 40-36 on points in Stevenage.

England's Whiteside, who turned pro in January, was too strong for compatriot Hodges, 33, who had won four of her previous five fights.

Whiteside, 33, wants eventually to fight two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams, says her promoter.

Adams' amateur success at 51kg stopped Whiteside from contesting an Olympics.

Whiteside was fighting on the undercard of Billy Joe Saunders' bout for the vacant WBO world super-middleweight title against Shefat Isufi.

• Live radio commentary and text coverage of Saunders v Isufi.

In January, her promoter Sam Jones described the prospect of a bout with Adams as "the fight that never was", adding "this is up there with the best fight in women's boxing to be made".

Whiteside, who also claimed World Championship silver as an amateur in 2014, battled to save her career in 2015 after fracturing her skull in an accident.

But she returned to enjoy success at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, defeating Northern Ireland's Carly McNaul to claim gold, before leaving the GB Boxing amateur set-up in October 2018.

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