Watford boxer Shannon Courtenay is hoping to put a year of disappointment and injury behind her - and is targeting the professional circuit for the start of next season.

Courtenay won her first match for more than six months against Irish challenge Tasha Taylor on Friday.

She managed to shake off the cobwebs to dispatch her opponent in three swift rounds, in spite of stepping up to the ‘elite’ level for the first time.

The Islington ABC member is making winning a habit, but is not looking too far ahead.

“I think this will be my last season in amateur boxing,” she said. “There’s been a few things from different promoters and I already work with a professional coach.

“But I want to have a big season and see where that takes me. I’m not going to run before I can walk.

“I might feel differently in the summer. But at the moment It seems like the right time.”

Courtenay’s elite fight was her first at that level on Friday, with rounds lengthened from two minutes to three and the quality of opposition generally higher.

The Watford fighter, dubbed the ‘babyface assassin’, was always confident of her abilities in spite of the new challenge - and the time off.

“I slowed my style a bit but that’s why I started slowly in the first round,” she explained.

“There’s no one in my class who trains harder than me so I knew my fitness would pay off in the end.

“After that, I gave her a standing count and went from there. It was nice to be back in the ring. I had injuries and everything going on and I wanted to be out straight away, but things kept cropping up.”