The Commonwealth champion won a British Youth title as an amateur and only the frustrations of the COVID-19 lockdown spurred her to take the next steps in her career.

She told Boxing News magazine: “I would have liked a few more amateur fights. I was due to fight in the first round of the ABAs in 2020 but it got pulled due to the first COVID lockdown.

“Amateur boxing just hit a complete standstill but I noticed that pro gyms could stay open. So, I headed to one in Norwich just to keep fit because not training was doing my head in.

“I got chatting to some of the people there and it got me thinking.

“At the same time, I watched some of the girls on the lockdown television shows and I thought I could definitely mix it with them as well.”

Emma took her first steps into the sport when she was just nine years old and wanted to join her older brother at the gym.

She laughed: “I was just jealous. I just wanted to be in on whatever he was doing. But I remember just sitting there being too shy to join in with this room full of boys.

“Eventually, the trainer coaxed me into hitting the pads and I immediately thought, ‘This is great, I like this!’ “