GB boxer Chantelle Cameron reflects on Rio gold medal

GB boxer Chantelle Cameron was shackled by a different kind of pressure at last weekend's Rio test event - she promised her mum she'd come back home with a gold medal.

The rising star made good on her pledge after winning all three of her bouts to make it a hat-trick of successive titles at 60kg as she builds up towards next summer's Olympics.

"I always aim to win but this was my third gold medal in a row now so there was a lot of pressure on my shoulders going into it," the 24-year-old told Sky Sports.

"A lot of people were wondering whether I can go out to the Rio test event and win and I put myself under a lot of pressure because I told my mum I was going to bring the gold medal home for her.

"It didn't matter who I had to fight I just kept thinking that I needed to win this because I also felt I had to go out there and stamp my authority ahead of next year as well. I had to make sure I performed well and stood out because I want people to remember me when it comes to the qualifiers next year."

Cameron is the current national champion in her weight class and overcame France's Estelle Mosley in last Sunday's final to become the only British woman to return home from Rio with gold.

But the Northampton fighter admitted it had been one of the sternest examinations of her career to date, particularly the semi-final bout against tricky local fighter Taynna Santos Cardoso.

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy," she said. "There was a lot of hype around it because it was the Rio test event and I heard that something like 40m people watched it.

"It took a lot out of me mentally because when you want something so badly it can be quite draining. Your emotions really start playing with you so I had to be really controlled and make sure the build-up didn't get the better of me.

"Boxing the Brazilian in the semi-final was really challenging because she had the home crowd behind her and they were going absolutely crazy. I had to try and make sure that didn't faze me but in the back of my mind I was thinking 'I hope the home crowd don't influence the judges'.

"I knew I had to go out there and perform. But when the bell went she was actually better than we expected so I had to change my tactics at the end of the first round to make sure I outboxed her and won convincingly."