Savannah Marshall believes a more relaxed approach is paying dividends as she prepares to retain her middleweight title at next month’s World Boxing Championships in Jeju City, South Korea.
Marshall made history in 2012 as she became Britain’s first ever women’s world boxing champion with victory over Elena Vystropova in China.
It was quite some way to mark her 21st birthday – but just three months later she was to experience disappointment as, hampered by injury, she suffered a first-round loss at London 2012.
She was back on form this summer however as she beat Canada’s Ariane Fortin to take gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, leaving her full of confidence for the forthcoming World Championships from 16-24 November.
The 23-year-old is part of a five-strong English contingent – although Olympic and Commonwealth flyweight champion Nicola Adams misses out through injury – while Charlene Jones and Lauren Price make up the Wales representation.
And Marshall, who has undergone intensive work with GB Boxing performance psychologist Chris Marshall, insists she is better equipped to deal with the pressure of boxing in front of the big crowds.
“In two years since I won the world title I have matured mentally and I feel like a completely different person,” she said.
"The way I look at it now I just take each bout at a time and enjoy it. What happened in Glasgow [the Commonwealth Games] really helped to show [the help of GB Boxing performance psychologist Chris Marshall] is working."
© Sportsbeat 2014