Natasha Jonas features in episode 18 of Sky Sports' My Icon series
Monday 16 October 2017 20:46, UK
Natasha Jonas knows how fortunate she has been compared to other female boxers trying to make their way in the fight game.
The 2009 64kg EU amateur champion made history at London 2012 when she became the first Englishwoman to enter a boxing ring at an Olympic Games.
Boasting a perfect record from three fights since turning professional in April, the Joe Gallagher-trained prospect insists she is indebted to the people of Liverpool, particularly those at the city's famous Rotunda Amateur Boxing Club.
"I've been so lucky," Jonas says in episode 18 of Sky Sports' My Icon series.
"I've heard of horror stories of coaches rejecting females from participation [in boxing] and making training purposely hard so they don't come back.
"I've never experienced that, which is why I probably stayed in the same club for the whole of my amateur career. I was with the Rotunda from day one and I never ever changed clubs.
"They've always been supportive. They always found funding for me when I moved up levels to go to international competitions.
"Attitudes in women's sport as a whole are changing. The media [now] get behind it and the public get behind it. But the media, the Liverpool press and the people have always been supportive of me."
Jonas talks about her journey in the latest instalment of My Icon, which premieres on Tuesday at 7am on Sky Sports Mix and is available On Demand. The episode is repeated on Tuesday at 1pm, 6pm and 10pm.
Coinciding with Black History Month, Sky Sports' #MyIcon campaign brings you 31 exclusive interviews with top BAME sports personalities across the month of October. For more information click here.
