Record-breaking Shannon Courtenay is a boxer who cannot say no to a good challenge in the ring after picking up the Southern Area title last weekend.

The 22-year-old, who has enjoyed a stellar couple of years since entering the ring for the first time in 2014, had some pretty straightforward plans for September – and had been looking forward to taking a trip to Las Vegas to train at Floyd Mayweather’s famous gym without a bout on the horizon.

The Watford boxer has been on an upward curve on the English boxing scene from day one, taking the scalp of England international Kirsty Hill earlier this year, and in August took the tough decision to leave Finchley Boxing Club to join Hoddesdon Boxing Academy to help her continue her ascent.

Originally the move was only meant to sound out the club, almost a trial, to see whether she would feel at home and happy to stay permanently.

The first time she met her would-be coach, she expected the usual introduction, but instead was met with the prospect of a fight for the area title – a crown never held by a non-elite boxer.

It was a challenge she could have easily shirked, facing the similarly impressive Lisa Moore “in her own back yard”, as Courtenay puts it, but with a palpable sense of self-belief she had little hesitation in donning the gloves for a trip to Bethnal Green.

“I took the fight about four weeks ago because I wasn’t going to have another until after I go to Vegas,” she said. “But she’s just been given an England spot in my category but I felt like there was nothing to lose.

“I worked so hard leading up to the fight, which was in her own back yard, even though I wasn’t sure if I would even be joining the club permanently.

“It’s helped build my relationship with my coach, and he’s really brought me on. Winning the title as a non-elite boxer has never been done before so it means everything to me. Bringing this home to my family, and having only fought 13 times, is quite a statement to make.

“The odds were against me but I knew I could batter her and what I had in the tank. She’s a very good fighter and might be technically faster and better, but I knew I had what it takes to win.”

Courtenay’s dedication to the sport has seen her journey time more than double to beyond two hours to get to and from Hoddesdon, a move she says was motivated by trying “different systems” and a desire to fight for England – possibly even representing Team GB at the Olympics in 2020.

It will be no different as she tours the Mayweather gym in Nevada this week on a trip which has become somewhat of a celebration after her recent success, but is still rooted in a desire for self-improvement.

“I can’t wait to be at that famous gym in America,” she said. “It will be amazing, and to meet a few people and some of the women fighters out there will be great and hopefully I will be able to learn from them.

“After that, we can celebrate a bit. The sport is a lot bigger in America and I’ve been offered a couple of professional contracts in England, but I want to go abroad and America is something which is definitely on my list.

“I would like to think I could get into the Olympic squad in 2020, but it’s dependent on whether my category will be included – but if it is, I’ll be going for it.”