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Ystrad Mynach turned out in force on Sunday to welcome their history-making boxing champion Lauren Price home.
The Olympic gold-medallist outclassed Jessica McCaskill over eight two-minute rounds to win the experienced American’s unified Ring magazine, WBA and IBO welterweight titles.
Roared on by thousands at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on Saturday night, Price barely lost a minute of the fight, winning 90-82 on the judges’ scorecards.
The 29-year-old is now the first Welsh woman to become a world champion boxer.
After the win Price dedicated her world title win to her grandmother Linda and late grandfather Derek, who recognised and nurtured her sporting talent from a young age.
She told the BBC her nan sent her a “massive paragraph” containing words of encouragement on the eve of the fight.
“Her and my granddad – they brought me up from three days old,” she said. “And they showed me love and support – if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have achieved anything.”
She added that she could hardly wait to go home to Ystrad Mynach.
And what a welcome the community gave her as she went to her grandmother’s house for a well-deserved roast dinner – complete with pigs in blankets.
The lining of Penallta Road was organised by Susanne Evans, owner of Veg of Evans. A charity collection on the coach to take fans down to Cardiff to watch Lauren raised £371 in aid of the boxer’s chosen charity Dementia UK.
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