Shannon Courtenay hopes Katie Taylor’s decision to turn professional in England opens the path for more female boxer’s to follow suit.

Taylor, who is a five-time world amateur champion and won gold at London 2012, is set to make her professional bow next week.

Watford boxer Courtenay has long harboured ambitions of turning professional herself and says Taylor signing a contract with Matchroom Boxing can only help women in the sport.

“I’ve thought about going professional in America, but seeing Katie Taylor do it in England will hopefully create opportunities for a few more fighters to do the same in the future,” she said.

“Hopefully there will be more interest and offers and it could be something I could do in the next couple of years.”

Courtenay has certainly shown she has the credentials to push on after becoming the first non-elite boxer to win the Southern Area title belt earlier this year.

But the Hoddesdon Boxing Academy member understands that patience may be a virtue, and national titles a necessity, if her rapid rise is to continue into the pro ranks.

She said: “I think I need to win a national title or a couple of national titles and maybe make the England or GB team before I can aim to go pro.

“At the moment it is about keeping on doing what I have been doing and getting more experience with as many fights as I can.”

The next step in attaining such experience comes with a trip to Sweden to compete in the Golden Girl Championship next week.

Her objective is to bring home gold from the tournament as she bids to nurture an already strong winning mentality.

Her committed approach took her to Las Vegas earlier this year to train at Floyd Mayweather’s gym and she says she has returned a better fighter.

However, preparing for the event has been somewhat hamstrung by a virus which prevented Courtenay from training, but she insists she is adequately prepared.

“I picked up a virus and I couldn’t train for a couple of weeks so didn’t know if I was going to go to Sweden,” she explained.

“I spoke to my trainer and I am feeling as strong as I ever have, so am looking forward to getting out there.”

The Golden Girl Championship will see Courtenay face competitors from across Europe and test herself against some experienced fighters.

Courtenay will not discover who she is set to face until after the weigh in and is eager to go up against a quality opponent.

“I don’t know too much about who I will be fighting until after the weigh in,” She explained.

“It doesn’t bother me who I fight, I just want it to be a good fighter because fighting good opponents is the best way to get better.”