As a teenager, Lauren Price had a tough decision to make; aim for glory on the football pitch with Wales or fight for success in the unforgiving boxing ring.
Multiple podium finishes on the world stage and the 2018 Commonwealth middleweight title later, her choice of the square over the grass has certainly been vindicated.
Price, a former captain of her national under-19 side, switched to boxing following a successful football career after her podium finish at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
And it is a choice that she doesn’t regret as she prepares for the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, beginning in New Delhi on November 15.
“I used to play football at international level for Wales and got 52 caps,” she said.
“I went to Glasgow in 2014 for my first Commonwealth Games and won bronze, and my coach at the time, Colin Jones, told me I had to choose one sport. I decided to go with boxing.
“I finished my last game against England playing football and I thought I would always have the chance to go back to football, whereas this was a once in a lifetime opportunity in boxing.
“My dream has always been to go to the Olympic Games and after I won the bronze in 2014, four months later I beat (2014 Commonwealth champion) Savannah Marshall in Spain and I thought this was my time to come up to Sheffield and become a full-time athlete.”
Price isn’t the first footballer-turned-boxer to change sports during their career.
Professional IBF and WBA world champion Katie Taylor, who won Olympic lightweight gold at London 2012, played upfront for the Republic of Ireland and Natasha Jonas was also a footballer before choosing the ring.
The inspiration for athletes like Price to dedicate themselves to boxing came from the generation of amateurs before them.
In recent times the likes of Taylor and Jonas, as well as Nicola Adams and Chantelle Cameron, have all featured prominently with the increased global coverage of women’s sport, and Price is hoping to follow in the footsteps of these fighters.
“When I first started they were the girls who were in the amateurs, Katie Taylor is a five-time world champion and I remember watching her and being inspired by her and always wanting to be like her,” she said.
“They’ve opened doors for other athletes after the Olympic Games and we’ll see what happens after Tokyo.”
Price goes into the World Championships with terrific momentum and is one of the favourites to bring back gold from India.
“I look back to the year I’ve had; winning gold in the Commonwealth games and then a bronze in the Europeans, it’s probably been the best year of my career so far and I want to finish the year on a high by winning a medal,” she said.
“I never put pressure on myself. I’m looking forward to the World Championships and the main thing for me is knowing preparation has gone well.”
Sportsbeat 2018