Shannon Courtenay says things have changed a lot for her since she won her first professional fight just four weeks ago.

The boxer, who hails from Abbots Langley, beat Cristina Busuioc on March 23 and this Saturday will step into the ring as a professional, for only the second time, at the O2 Arena.

While Courtenay insists that she always believed she could get this far, she admits she is surprised by how quickly it has come to her.

"Things have changed a lot – I get recognised now wherever I go, which is a bit weird," she said.

"I always knew that I would fight in a position like this because I train so hard, but I never ever dreamed that I would get there this early.

"I said I wanted to have a big career and I wanted to make a big name for myself.

"I’m always going to be in the big shows and the big arenas because I’ve got a big character, I’ve got a good following as well. So I’d like to keep up this momentum."

Despite her second professional fight being a matter of days away, Courtenay is still unaware of who her opponent is.

She believes that at this early stage in her career it is more important to focus on herself than on who she is fighting.

She said: "I know that my coaches know who I’m fighting but I don't ask because, to be honest, I’m not really that fussed, I just want to get in there and fight.

"Until I start fighting for titles I don’t want to start studying my opponents or anything yet because they should worry about me, I don’t need to worry about them yet.

"When I get to the later stages of my career and there’s a big fight then I’ll start studying my opponent six weeks out, but until then I just do what I do best and it’ll pay off on the night."

Courtenay's rise to the professional ranks may seem somewhat meteoric as she now finds herself on the same card as some sizeable names in the sport, including Derek Chisora, Lucas Browne and Dave Allen.

However, she still wants to take her career one step at a time and thinks that to be calling for titles now would be disrespectful to the sport.

She said: "I don’t like people that start calling out for titles so early in their career, I think it’s disrespectful.

"I’ll see where my journey goes, I know I’ve got a busy year ahead of me but I’m not saying when and how long in regards to titles yet.

"This sport is the hardest sport in the world and until you’re in it, you don’t understand how difficult it is, so I think it’s important that not just the spectators but the fighters themselves respect everyone in the sport.

"It’s such a hard job getting punched in the head for a living for other people’s entertainment. It’s not easy."