Lisa Whiteside has one thing firmly on her mind when she makes her professional debut on Saturday night - a long-awaited clash with Nicola Adams sooner rather than later. 

The Chorley flyweight steps through the ropes for the first time as a professional at Stevenage FC’s Lamex Stadium on May 18 and is looking to move quickly. 

The 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist is also a seven-time national champion and silver medallist at the 2014 world championships, having won bronze at the 2012 edition.

A meeting with Adams has never happened however, British boxing’s golden girl pulling out of a qualifying event ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016. 

Lancashire Telegraph:

“My weight is the same as Nicola Adams,” said Whiteside. 

“We should have boxed each other before the last Olympics but she pulled out hence why we need to have that fight in the pro game, don’t we?

“The main thing now is to be fast-tracked because I want that fight and so does my management team and I am sure the public, as soon as possible. It is a fight that never happened that should have. 

“It would be a War of the Roses fight and would be fantastic.”

The 33-year-old’s debut comes against Dani Hodges, who has lost one of her five fights. 

Whiteside says she is confident she can reach the very top having done the same in the amateur code. 

“I could have stayed on the GB team for Tokyo 2020 and I had the No.1 spot, but having the Commonwealth gold made me feel like I had done enough in the amateur game and I was happy to finish on a high,” she said. 

“I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity of the pro game and I felt it was the right time to go. 

“I just felt like I had outgrown the amateur side and seeing how open it is now, with the publicity and liking for female boxing, I thought ‘wow, the pro game is my style’.

"I am not a big-headed person, but I do believe that I can become a world champion.”

Billy Joe Saunders’ clash with Shefat Isufi for the WBO World super middleweight title headlines on Saturday.