Meet the heavyweight who teaches sign language

Grace Buckle is a three-time National Amateur heavyweight champion 'Amazing' Grace Buckle is a unique boxing talent. Her recent win at the National Amateur Championships (NAC) confirmed her status as the best female heavyweight in England. But as well as an accomplished star in the ring, Buckle is also a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. Her signing skills are an inextricable part of her remarkable story. "BSL helps you read body language," says Buckle. "I get a sense of where people are going to hit me, what they are trying to do, where they are targeting." The child of deaf parents, BSL was Buckle's first language. "It was mainly a single-parent household," says Buckle. "I would support my mum by answering phone calls and reading letters." "Of course, I could take advantage of this," she adds. "When I was misbehaving at school, teachers threatened to call home and I'd reply, 'Go on then'." As a BSL translator, Buckle is already at the top of the game. She teaches BSL and has no doubt about the value of the classes to her own career. "All teaching is symbiotic; it makes you reflect on what you know," she says. Encouraged by Miriam Dubois, who is deaf and the sister of British boxing royalty and world champions Caroline and Daniel Dubois, Buckle's BSL skills were recently put to use at the Royal Albert Hall, where she signed the all-female card headlined by Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price in February. Buckle also signed at Daniel's spectacular knockout victory over Anthony Joshua at Wembley last September. From dragging tyres up hills in South London to a gold rush and signing ringside at some of the biggest fights of the past year, the 33-year-old has come a long way in a short time. Buckle signed the all-female card at the Royal Albert Hall in February for deaf viewers Buckle's boxing and BSL life have seamlessly moulded together, but she came to boxing late just three years ago. The Covid pandemic proved a pivotal moment, tying together different aspects of Grace's life. To combat the isolation of lockdown, Buckle began online – and then in-person - fitness sessions designed to piece together community spirit for groups such as the Deaf Ethnic Women's Association (DEWA) in north London. Instruction, counting down and motivation all came with new challenges. Along with the greater use of visual aids, the key to successful sessions, explains Grace, was the ability to demonstrate and emphasise exercises. A rare positive legacy of the pandemic was the passing of the British Sign Language Act 2022, which made BSL one of the recognised languages of Great Britain. When she first won the NACs in 2023, Buckle was a novice boxing out of Miquel's gym in Brixton. Her triumph at the NACs, when she beat Emily Asquith, a European champion at youth level - despite only having one amateur bout and a handful of white-collar fights under her belt - provided the foundation for a rapid rise. Buckle subsequently beat the Kazak Lazzat Kungeibayeva, previously a gold medallist at the world championships, at her first overseas tournament for England. She would go on to win the 2023 Haringey Box Cup, another NAC gold medal in 2024 and the Golden Girl tournament in Sweden in 2025. "You do get natural born fighters," says Quinton Shillingford, Buckle's current coach. "It's not just a question of technique and motivation, it's about whether you keep coming forward when you are hurt and have taken a shot. "Grace's mum and dad are both deaf and I know she takes inspiration from them. "She's always saying 'my mum is so strong'. She knows the difficulties they have had to navigate." Back in the ring, Buckle has not had things all her own way. A loss to Celine Lee-Lo of New Zealand at Haringey last year was the catalyst for a move to Shillingford's Heart of Portsmouth gym and her triumph at this years NACs. "I used to think it was a cliché, but there is a lot of wisdom in the idea, 'that it's not a loss, it's a learning'," Buckle says. Claressa Shields (L) recently fired the women's heavyweight division into the mainstream by becoming undisputed champion The heavyweight division is generally the glamour weight class in boxing, housing the biggest stars and attracting the most attention. The UK's biggest attractions of recent years has been Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury's run as heavyweight world champions. But the women's weight category that has hitherto been neglected. There are no women's categories above middleweight in the Olympic Games, but there is a potential path for Buckle through this year's World Championships to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2026. Perhaps after that the opportunity to turn professional? "Interest will grow in the heavyweights for the same reason as the category attracts attention for the men because you might see a killer knockout," Shillingford says. Clarissa Shields became the first undisputed female heavyweight champion in February. The self-proclaimed GWOAT of women's boxing, her win could well prove to be the start of an exciting new era for a women's weight. Shillingford says Buckle can be the female heavyweight hope in the UK. "Grace has ability, athleticism, and an incredible willingness to learn. Everyone talks about it," says Shillingford. "She can achieve whatever she wants to put in."