Shelley's Story
Shelley Watts made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, after finishing 2nd at the Asia/Oceania Qualifiers earlier in the same year. Watts was Australia’s only female boxer at the Rio Games.
Competing in the women’s lightweight (60kg) division, Watts faced a tough Italian opponent in the opening round, being narrowly defeated in a 2-1 decision.
From the small town of Laurieton in NSW, the 27-year-old was drawn to the sport after a serious ACL injury forced her off the football pitch. After believing her sporting career was over, a determined Watts starting boxing to regain fitness. Fast forward six years from her first official fight in 2010, Watts has represented Australia in countless international tournaments and two AIBA women’s World Championships.
Watts made history after she claimed Australia’s first female boxing gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the lightweight division. In 2015 Watts claimed gold and was named as the top boxer at International Silesian Tournament in Poland, beating top-class opponents from Germany, Hungary and Russia on her way to the title.
Watts was crowned ‘Female Fighter of the 2015 Australian Championships' and the 'Highest Internationally Ranked Female Boxer' at the 2015 National Championships on the Gold Coast. She now sits on the Australian Olympic Committee’s Athlete’s Commission.
