WBC world title shot beckons for British middleweight Kelly Morgan

Track and Field athlete-turned boxer Kelly Morgan is confident she can "turn her dreams into reality" by becoming WBC world middleweight champion.

Multi-talented Morgan represented England's development squad in netball before focusing on athletics, breaking the British javelin record previously held by Tessa Sanderson and Fatima Whitbread, before claiming Commonwealth bronze at Kuala Lumpur in 2002.

After serving in the British Army and the Royal Air Force when she stopped competing in 2004, Morgan fulfilled a lifelong ambition when entering the ring for a white collar bout 13 months ago.

She dazzled in the sport, eventually turning professional last year and winning all three of her contests in 2015 including a dominant points win over world No 2 Szilvia Szabados.

That victory has earned Morgan a shot at the WBC Silver title in March, putting the 35-year-old one fight away from a potential world title contest.

"I'm a little nervous but I'm very excited about 2016," Morgan told Sky Sports.

"It's the stuff that dreams are made of and I'm surprised how quickly this shot has come around. I thought 2015 would be hard to top but 2016 looks like it's going to be a really exciting year for me.

"It's hard to put into words what it would mean to me to win a world title. To be on the brink of potentially becoming a world champion in a sport I was desperate to be a part of since I was five would be absolutely immense.

"I'd love to bring the world title to the UK and I hope it will raise awareness of women's boxing and help me pave the way for more female professional fighters to come through.

"In my gut and in my heart, I believe I can do it even though I am so new to the sport. But I know I'm moving in the right direction and part of me feels like this is meant to be.

"I am going to try and make this dream a reality and I believe I can do it. I'm still learning but I'm getting better and stronger with every fight."

Kelly's father, Russ, was an army physical training instructor who used to box and that is where the Swindon-based fighter says her love for the sport began.

"Boxing was the first sport I remember that gave me an adrenaline surge," she said.

"My dad boxed in the army and I'm not sure whether I saw him training or whether I just heard him talking about it but a light bulb went off in my head. 

"That's when I knew I wanted to do it and I bugged him for ages as a five-year-old to take me boxing. That didn't quite happen but I think that's when my family realised I could maybe make a living from sport.

"I was channelled into traditional sports like netball and athletics. Those experiences aside I feel comfortable for what feels like the first time in my life and I have found my way after feeling like I was in no man's land for so many years.

"I have needed all those different paths and wrong turns to get me to this point. I'm just so glad I found it now but it's been a testing period getting here after athletics.

"I've come into the boxing game very late with little amateur experience other than the year I boxed while in the army. But I have lots of experience in sport and in life and I am transferring those experiences of competing in different sports into the ring now.

"I also know how to grit it and if you need that in any sport it's boxing. I've had to draw on that to catch up with the others but I am learning and I am getting there."

Kelly Morgan has been invited to attend this week's WBC female boxing convention in Mexico and will be blogging from the event in Tijuana on our Sportswomen page.