The Evertonian on being turned away from a boxing gym as a child and the Scouse trait that’s made her a trailblazer in the sport
Molly McCann will be fighting in her home city tonight (Image: Getty Images)
Molly McCann has come a long way since working night shifts at Subway. Working at the sandwich chain in her early 20s provided the Meatball nickname she has carried with her throughout her rise to become one of Liverpool’s most renowned sports stars.
The 35-year-old is preparing for another special career milestone tonight (April 18) as she will make her professional boxing debut in her home city. Of course, McCann has fought in Liverpool before when she was an MMA fighter for Cage Warriors and UFC, but Saturday’s match against Ashleigh Johnson will be her first in the M&S Bank Arena since she made the move to the sweet science in 2025.
The Evertonian has had four wins since she become a boxer and is expecting this to be her most emotional fight in the boxing ring yet, as she aims to keep her undefeated record intact. She said: “I’ve won a world title in MMA in that arena. I’ve been put akip in the UFC in that arena. I’ve been around the world and back again. I’ve never had the feeling like fighting in that M&S Bank Arena.
“Making the walk down the back into the changies, I’ve never felt nothing quite like it.” Molly’s journey to become a fighter started aged 12 when she walked into St Teresa’s ABC in Norris Green with her cousin James.
However, women’s combat sports was looked down upon at the time and Molly was told she wasn’t allowed to box, simply because she was a girl. However, the Scouser isn’t the sort of person who lies down without a fight as she told the ECHO in 2016: “They wouldn’t let me in.
“I had to stand there and ask if I could come in. One day they let me in to spar, I sparred with the lads and smashed them to bits. They let me in after that. But only me.”
Molly’s boxing went from strength to strength as she continued training, but she pivoted to MMA as she discovered how few opportunities were available in women’s boxing for someone in her weight class. She has been at the forefront of the growth of women’s combat sports with her ferocious style and headline grabbing knockouts going a long way to bringing the sport into the mainstream.
She become one of UFC’s biggest stars and enjoyed viral moments with Drake, who bought her a Rolex in 2022, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who described her spinning elbow knockout over Luana Carolina as “the devastating people’s Meatbow.”
Not many have done more to legitimise women’s sports than Molly, but breaking down barriers is emblematic of her defiant spirit, which she puts down to her Liverpool upbringing. She told the ECHO in 2023: “Scousers are built this way because of the years of degeneration, of things being taken from us and being treated in a different manner to how other cities are.
“The North doesn’t forget, we don’t forget. That has created a mentality of ‘if one of us wins, then we all win’ so we’re all going to push ourselves to that. You could have a fiver in your pocket or £500 and it doesn’t change who you are.
“You’d still give your last however much to whoever to try and help them. That’s rare, there’s very few cities in the world that has a community like ours.”
The goal for Molly was always to return to boxing at some point in her life and she made the move days after announcing her MMA retirement last year. In an interview with the Guardian, she revealed how a career in fighting is hard for her mum, Sharon, and partner, Fran Parman.
She said: “It’s traumatic for Fran and even more traumatic for my mum. I’m 35 and I’ve been in the gym since I was 12. I had my first fight at 16. I’ve spent most of my life fighting.”
But fighting is in Molly’s DNA and her natural ability in the squared circle has gone some way to allaying any of those fears in her family. On her mum’s reaction after she signed a 10 fight deal with promoter Eddie Hearn, she told the Guardian: “My mum rings and I told her I’ve just signed a 10-fight deal with Eddie. Put the phone down. She’s shouting: ‘Molly!’ She thought it was done because when I retired we hugged and she was like: ‘Sweet Lord, it’s over.’
“I eventually rang my mum back and she said: ‘I can get on board with this because I know you know how to box with your eyes shut.’ I then rang my nan because she’s the matriarch. She said: ‘I might come to these fights.”
However, Molly said her nan must wait as the fighter is still working hard to achieve her ultimate goal. She added: “She came to watch me win a national championship and the world title in MMA. So I said: ‘You’ll only come to one fight – when I headline Goodison Park – because you’re a good omen.’”