Johanna Wonyou: the victory punch

A hundred fights with only fifteen defeats, the one called “Wonder” in France has just arrived in London! Johanna "Wonder" Wonyou has been a professional boxer for a year. Driven by her victories and attracted by what she calls the "boxing culture" of London, she took off for England while her professional career is just beginning.

“Fast and good”

Just three months after winning the gold medal at the French professional boxing championships, Johanna Wonyou, 21, landed in England. She comes from Sarcelles, a small town in the Paris suburbs in France. And more precisely, she comes from the Boxing Club of Garges, the neighbouring town. While her first professional fight dates to last year, in October she arrived in the English capital, with a lot of dreams. Since her first titles, she has won many fights and does not intend to stop there.

"If I go back to France, it's because I've really done some great things here. It's written," she says.

From her career in London, she hopes for "success and evolution, progression... In the progression, I expect to be able to compete for a WBC championship".

"What I like best about my career today is that I know I still have a lot of room for improvement, and I'm only 21, so it's going to be fast and good,” she says.

At present, the one who called herself “Wonder” when she became professional has had a total of three fights as a professional. All won.

"To aim higher you need more fights, to aim for Europe you need at least five."

Indeed, Johanna Wonyou hopes to be able to fight for the European Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games soon.

"I will try to qualify and compete in intermediate tournaments," she promises.

No deal with defeat

As a professional, she had the opportunity to continue her career in another country. London caught her eye.

"England is more of a boxing country than France. I think there will be more opportunities here in the professional world than in France."

After 3 years of gymnastics and 2 years without sport, the young Johanna Wonyou wants to try a combat sport. She knocked on the door of the Garges Bowing Club at the age of 14. Spotted in the ring for her first fight, the young girl was selected for the French team, even though she had only been boxing for six months.

"My opponent had been boxing for nine years, and despite the defeat, the coaches liked my performance," she explains.

Her numerous tournaments have taken her to the four corners of the world, allowing her to discover other boxing cultures, especially in Europe. In 2015, she won the bronze medal at the World Boxing Championships.

"I went there innocently, I wanted to win, but I didn't really know what it was like to perform. Now I know what it means, and I'm a bit frustrated that I didn't keep up the momentum for the European championships, which were just behind, for example."

While each of her victories has thrilled her, she says:

"I really don't want to deal with defeat, it doesn't interest me."

Flyweight

In parallel to her career, she obtained her BTS “Operational Commercial Management” and hopes that her life as an athlete will give her time to start a bachelor’s in business and administration in January.

Today, she fights in the under 51 kg and under 54 kg categories. For her, "the diet is complicated" to follow in her career. She recalls with amusement a competition she took part in Poland, in the 54 kg category. But only a week later, she had to go to a tournament in the 51 kg category.

"I have only one more week to lose the weight. When I come back to France, to lose the weight, I do a lot of jogging. One day, while I was running, I read my emails and I saw that I was finally selected at 54 kg. I stopped running and went home," she says with amusement.

"Frankly, boxing is a sport in which you evolve quickly, and you can very, very quickly reach the international level if you are determined, and you work hard," she says.

Her next fight will take place in early 2022. However, neither the date nor the opponent is known yet...