FROM the moment she swaggered into the ring on Saturday afternoon it was abundantly clear that Nicola Adams was about to make British Olympic history.

The 33-year-old could not have looked more relaxed for her flyweight gold-medal match against France’s Sarah Ourahmoune – flashing her million-dollar smile and shadow-boxing for all the world to see as she bounced onto the canvas in Riocentro.

And once the bell went for the first round, the most decorated boxer in British amateur history was far too classy for her smaller and older opponent who was fighting in her first Olympics.

Adams was a prohibitive favourite coming in – she had won all four past bouts between the two – most recently in April of this year.

However, it is one thing being the favourite and another to go out and deliver her best performance on sport’s biggest stage.

But Adams is the real deal – and when the heat came on, particularly in the third and fourth rounds as her opponent threw caution to the wind, the Leeds fighter simply found another gear.

And having defended her title from London 2012, the first British boxer to do that since 1924, Adams flashed that winning smile in her post-match conference.

“It feels absolutely amazing, especially to be able to think to myself that I’ve created history and I’m not the most accomplished British amateur boxer of all time,” she said.

“It’s pretty much the same feeling as in London. I’ve had a massive amount of support from Yorkshire and the rest of the nation. I feel like I had all their support in the ring with me every punch I was throwing, so I’d like to say thank you to everyone.

“The route to gold was not easier this time. I had to qualify the same way as everyone else. It’s tough because everyone wants to go to the Olympic Games, so every time you beat someone you’re crushing their dreams.

“But I felt like I did enough to win, definitely. I thought I was winning the rounds comfortably and was scoring the cleaner shots.”

The combined age of these boxers stood at over 68 years – an Olympic record – but they showed no signs of slowing down in an enthralling encounter.

Ourahmoune, bronze medallist at the worlds this year when Adams beat her in the semi-finals, was boxing in her first and last Olympics - she has already admitted she will retire after Rio 2016 - and struggled to settle.

Adams used her longer arms to great effect in the opening two rounds – her jab keeping the Frenchwoman at bay before unloading some impressive combinations when they came together.

At the halfway stage it appeared that we could hang the medal around Adams’ neck already – all the judges had her ahead and Ourahmoune looked out of ideas.

But to the Frenchwoman’s eternal credit – she refused to buckle and in the third round began to walk through Adams’ jab and do some damage on the inside.

A couple of heavy shots rocked the defending champion in the third – ‘I like to keep it interesting,” Adams quipped afterwards – but she regained her composure to see out the round.

The fourth and final round was manic as both women stood in the centre of the ring and went blow for blow but at the final bell Adams had clearly done enough.

And thankfully in a fortnight marred by judging controversies, Adams’ arm was held aloft and she could add a second Olympic gold medal to her World, European and Commonwealth crowns.

Not only is Adams a superb ring technician but she is also a superb ambassador for a sport that’s reputation is currently in the gutter – but whether she will fight to Tokyo 2020 remains to be seen.

“I’m now going to take a holiday and come back to work on what’s next,” she said.

After a fortnight of unprecedented Team GB success – Adams' winning smile continues to stand out from the crowd – what odds on her carrying the flag into the closing ceremony?

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