Nicola Adams and Marlen Esparza are in competition to win first world title - BBC Sport
Double Olympic champion Nicola Adams and her partner Marlen Esparza are racing to be first to win a world title.
Last updated on .From the section Boxing

Double Olympic champion Nicola Adams says she is racing with her partner Marlen Esparza to be a world champion.

Adams, 34, stopped Mexico's Maryan Salazar in her second professional fight in Leeds on Saturday.

American Esparza won her second bout as a professional a week earlier, becoming the first woman to box three-minute rounds, rather than the standard two.

"We have room on the mantlepiece for a world title," said Adams. "I'll not hear the end of it if I'm not first."
• None Listen to Adams on the 5 live boxing podcast
• None When I go a the world title, I'm coming back champion - Adams

She added: "We were both keen to get the three-minute rounds over the line. I thought I'd be the first person to do it but she pipped me, I'm still the first in Britain though."

Adams and Esparza competed for the same women's flyweight title at London 2012, though the pair did not meet in the competition as the Briton won gold and the American bronze.

They have sparred in the past, though Adams believes they will never meet in the ring going forward as they now seek titles at different weights.

Adams, who impressed in overwhelming Salazar at flyweight, feels she still has "a lot to do" to reach world-title level.

"I'm hoping in a year I will be able to fight for a world title," she told BBC Radio 5 live's boxing podcast. "I need more rounds under my belt. I'd love to be able to say let's just go for it but I want to be right and ready so that when I go for that title I come back as champion."

When Nicola made her debut, I was a little bit worried. I was disappointed with the crowd as it went mild. She needed a good performance in her second bout and a stoppage as people want to be entertained.

Now we've seen all those skills but with more power.

I've seen her in spars and I've seen her spar lads. At 34 years of age with experience of two Olympics, her engine and conditioning is more seasoned than someone of 22 years of age. She could go into eight and 10-round contests from now, no problem whatsoever.