Dubai delight as Rachel rises to the occasion again

Boxing: Rachel Lally remains undefeated as a professional following her second round stoppage of Virpal Kaur in Dubai. The Belmullet native, who earlier this year claimed the UBO World Super Middleweight title, dropped to the middleweight division for this bout at The Gallery, Meydan on the Immortal Reign fight card last Friday (June 5).

Scheduled as a six-rounder, southpaw Lally was in total control from the first bell and went to work relentlessly on her opponent, forcing a technical knockout just 1m45s into the second round.

The 31-year-old former Irish champion is a secondary school teacher in Dubai, inspiring young people daily and balancing elite training with classroom leadership, showing her students — especially young girls — that ambition, discipline, and resilience can open extraordinary paths.

Recognised too as one of the most meteoric risers in female professional boxing and is listed among the WBA’s top-5, Rachel sees this latest win as a “massive step toward an even bigger career shift by the end of 2026”. It’s just reward for 5am starts and balancing 10-hour workdays with gruelling elite training camps.

‘The Bullet from Belmullet’ is in fact the highest ranked female boxer living and training in the UAE and has become a leading figure for women’s sport in the region, using her platform to empower female athletes and expand access to boxing across the Gulf. This year she was nominated for the UAE Golden Visa by both the Dubai Sports Council and the UAE Boxing Federation, recognising her contribution to the nation’s sporting landscape and her impact on female participation in boxing, and both organisations formally acknowledged her achievements on the night of her latest victory.

Her presence in both sport and education has made her a standout role model in the UAE, demonstrating that high performance and community impact can go hand in hand.