It’s been 28 years since Australia celebrated an Olympic boxing medal, Graham ‘Spike’ Cheney delivering with silver in Seoul, 1988.

 

Almost three decades later Australia will have their hopes pinned on another boxing medal, and this time it is hoped that Commonwealth Games gold medallist and NSWIS athlete Shelley Watts is the person to deliver, when she steps into the ring in Rio.

 

While most would be weighed down by high expectations, Watts is simply spurred on by others beliefs that she has a strong result within her reach, describing her confidence to The Daily Telegraph.

 

“I’m going to be 100 per cent proud of myself, no matter the result but I know in myself I can do this and I know that I can bring home a medal for Australia, the first one in 28-years and I know I can bring home a gold medal,’’ Watts said.

 

However it isn’t just history and living in the Olympic moment that Watts focuses on. From sharing her time and experience with future stars in various sports to inspiring other young females to chase their dreams, Watts is acutely aware of her status as a role model.

 

“One of the most amazing things about becoming an elite athlete in Australia is the role models that you have a chance to become for generations that are to come,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

 

“Obviously success is amazing, but one of the things that gives me so much pride is being able to give back to the young girls and let them know, anything is possible.

 

“I’m just a small town girl from Laurieton (south of Port Macquarie in NSW). My Journey came from a knee reconstruction playing soccer.

 

“I wasn’t an elite athlete at all and if I can try and be a role model or inspiration for one female, then that is amazing for me.

 

“I can’t explain to you how much pride I have, knowing that I can be a positive influence on a younger generation.”

 

After making history in Glasgow two years ago, with Australia’s first boxing gold medal at a Commonwealth Games in the lightweight division, the Olympic moment isn’t one that will get the better of Watts.

 

“I don’t feel pressure from the history or that I have to do this for the sport of boxing because I have my own expectations and pressure on myself,’’ Watts said.

 

“Because I have that, I think that I don’t have to worry about external pressures.

 

“I feel so relaxed about this experience. It feels really weird because it just feels like another tournament, but obviously it’s not another tournament.

 

“This is the Olympic Games and I won’t be wasting a second of it.’’

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