Shanee Martin, Colchester's champion female boxer, is ready to step back into the ring again.
The super-fit, 23-year-old flyweight (51 kilos) will put ten months of heartache, torment and illness behind her on Sunday when she steps out at York Hall, Bethnal Green - the home of British boxing - for only her third fight as a fully fledged professional.
"I can't wait to get going again," she told the Gazette eagerly.
Martin will be fighting fellow orthodox boxer Abina Atseva - her third Bulgarian in a row - after her scheduled German opponent was forced to pull out.
Ironically Martin has just returned home from Germany where she sharpened up for her latest bout by sparring with three different training partners in Dortmund.
Backed by Team Projects of East London and Colchester's Flowline Builders, Martin said: "I'm ready, willing and able and I can't wait to climb back in that ring again."
That is a far cry from earlier in the year which, at times, left her physically drained and often in floods of tears.
She revealed: "There was a time when I couldn't train for eight weeks. I've always trained hard to get in great shape for my fights, but I was getting super fit too early. My immune system was so low that I tended to catch every ailment in sight."
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Thursday, September 15, 2005
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