I AWOKE on Sunday morning to four text messages on my phone, all of them saying largely the same thing, "Have you heard about Frank Maloney?"

I had not heard anything about Maloney and quickly fired up the internet machine and read with utter astonishment the news that Mr Maloney is now Ms Maloney and now goes by the name Kellie.

For those of you not initiated with boxing, Frank Maloney was one of Britain's biggest and most successful promoters over 30-years, most famous for guiding Lennox Lewis to a world title.

Kellie Maloney deserves our respect and admiration for making such an incredibly brave move, to reveal herself so publically.

“I wasn't born into the right body; I have always known I was a woman. I can't keep living in the shadows," she said. “Living with the burden any longer would have killed me.

"I hope society will be open-minded. I know I could not have done my job in boxing as a female.”

It's a courageous move and if, like me, you generally wish people well in their life and think we all have a right to happiness, Steve Bunce probably hit the nail on the head when he tweeted: "Frank Maloney is possibly the bravest person in boxing. How can anybody give him stick? You have to just smile and say: "Go on girl!"

However, there is more to this than just wishing Kellie Maloney a happy and healthy future, because Kellie Maloney is obviously going to get a lot of attention, due to previously being in the public eye.

And that isn't just as a boxing promoter, because Frank Maloney also stood as a UKIP candidate to be London Mayor in 2004 and when he did, he seriously damaged his reputation with comments that were homophobic and widely condemned.

So while Kellie Maloney can hopefully be an inspirational figure for those dealing with gender dysphoria, hopefully she can also make amends for the hurt she caused the gay community with exactly the sort of discriminatory thinking that meant Kellie felt she was forced to live a lie for 61-years.