Rhiannon Dixon: 'I don't like hurting people' - how Briton went from pharmacist to boxer

Rhiannon Dixon has won all seven fights since turning professional in 2019

Rhiannon Dixon casts her mind back to a Tuesday morning in December 2021. Before beginning her rounds at Merseyside's Whiston Hospital, she meticulously attempts to conceal the marks on her face.

Dishing out medical advice or dispensing pain relief while sporting cuts and bruises is not a good look for the pharmacist-turned-boxer.

Just a few days earlier, Dixon swapped surgical gloves for 10oz boxing gloves when she defeated Vaida Masiokaite at Manchester Arena on 18 December.

"I don't think it's appropriate to be on a ward with a swollen eye or cuts to the face, trying to advise someone on their health," she says.

"But I'm really good at make-up so I can kind of get away with it."

Dixon's boxing journey has transported her from a university student who had no interest in the sport to fighting on the big stage, and from the glitz and glamour of competing in an arena back to the front line in the fight against Covid.

"People always joke 'she'll put you in a ward then she'll treat you'," the 27-year-old adds.

"I don't know how I feel about that. I'd rather not think about it. I don't like hurting people, but I have to block all that out when I'm in the ring."

Now heading into her eighth fight and training as a full-time boxer, the lightweight will challenge Vicky Wilkinson for the Commonwealth title at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena on Saturday.

Inspired by Ronda Rousey

Inspired by UFC star Ronda Rousey, Dixon - while studying pharmacy at Manchester University - contacted a local MMA gym to ask about classes.

"Ronda was so dominant and dead feminine as well. I was like 'this is someone I can relate to'," she says.

"But the gym said if you haven't done any combat sport before, try boxing and we'll go from there."

Dixon joined a white-collar gym aimed at beginners - often city workers - who learn the fundamentals of boxing and ultimately train for a fight against other novices.

MMA's loss was boxing's gain. She started dominating the white-collar scene, winning bout after bout.

"There's not much of a diverse pool in white-collar boxing, so once you've kept beating the same girls then you're like where do I go from there?" she says.

White collar to Anthony Crolla

Dixon is coached by former world champion Anthony Crolla (right)

Dixon's best friend James Moorcroft turned professional and encouraged her to do the same.

In search of a coach, their manager contacted former WBA lightweight champion Anthony Crolla, who was on holiday at the time.

"I was with the lads in Portugal, I was feeling a bit rough on my way to get a coffee when my phone rang," Crolla says.

"I was a bit hungover and vulnerable. So I said I'd do a session with them when I'm back. My plan was to help them out until they found a coach - and now here I am.

"Rhiannon was a rough diamond who needed polishing up a bit but someone who had no amateur experience. I was so excited to work with her."

Irish superstar Katie Taylor holds all four major belts in the lightweight division, but Crolla believes his fighter "can win a world title one day".

"First let's focus on Saturday," he adds. "For her to become Commonwealth champion, I'll be super proud of her and super proud as a coach - my first champion."

'Pharmacy & boxing - the same sort of high'

Dixon studied at Manchester University for five years before graduating and working as a pharmacist in Whiston Hospital

Dixon's win over Masiokaite - on the undercard of Derek Chisora v Joseph Parker II - was her first experience of fighting in front of a large crowd and broadcast globally on DAZN.

But as the Covid pandemic continued to stretch the National Health Service, giving up pharmacy was not an option.

"Boxing had to take a back seat," says Dixon. "I became a pharmacist because I love helping people, being able to make a change and see if I can affect someone's life there and then.

"That was one of the most rewarding things about Covid. You see people bouncing between Intensive Therapy Units and your ward, but then when you finally see them get discharged you feel a bit like when you get out the ring. It's the same sort high."

As Covid cases began to ease, and with Dixon's boxing career flourishing, she decided to dedicate her time almost exclusively to boxing.

"I had to tell myself that pharmacy is always there for me for the rest of my life, but I can't be a 60-year-old boxer," she says.

'Being a pharmacist is tougher than boxing'

Katie Taylor (right) is the current undisputed lightweight champion

With the help of sponsors, Dixon has been boxing full-time for a year now, but still plans to work the occasional hospital shift so she can keep her pharmacy registration.

When asked which is the tougher career, she replies: "It's the unpredictability of being on the ward which makes it harder than training for a title fight.

"You think you might be done but then something happens and you have to stay behind. It can be mentally draining, whereas you're more in control training for a title fight."

Dixon says she feels "no real pressure" in boxing with pharmacy always there to fall back on.

"I literally came from white-collar boxing. I always say these lot should be beating me, really," she adds.

"Other people may say without boxing they don't know what they'd do, but I'm literally just doing it for the love of the sport, the love of training and the love of fighting."

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