A FITNESS lover who ran a marathon for charity after her mum was diagnosed with cancer looking for a new challenge signed up for a boxing match - despite having next boxed before.

Kelly Watkins, from Newport, was inspired by her mother, who has terminal bowel cancer, to take on the fight and gruelling training programme.

Miss Watkins, 30, goes to the gym around four times a week and has completed a marathon and two half marathons - but says the eight-week Ultra White Collar Boxing training is 'the hardest thing she's ever done'.

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The prison officer said the physical nature of her job helped her throughout the training and revealed colleagues at HM Parc Prison joked 'don't you get in enough fights at work already?'.

After her training, Miss Watkins fought in front of hundreds of people, including her mum, Amanda, at Cardiff's Vale Sports Arena at a showcase event on Saturday, June 29.

All participants who take part in Ultra White Collar Boxing (UWCB) raise money for Cancer Research UK - with Miss Watkins raising £500.

In January 2017 her mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer and had operations to remove parts of her bowel and liver.

In April 2018 Miss Watkins' mother, now 57, was given the all-clear - but only a month later her father, Tony Farmer, died following a brain aneurysm. He was 61.

To make matters worse, around six months later, in October 2018, Miss Watkins' mother was told the cancer had returned and she was given just a year to live.

Miss Watkins said: "Losing dad was really tough, but to get the news the cancer was terminal just a few months later made things even harder."

Discussing why she signed up to UWCB, she said: "I had run half marathons and a marathon but wanted to change it up, I wanted a new and harder challenge, something that pushed me.

"People who have sponsored me before knew I can run half marathons - but I had never done boxing before, it was an entirely new challenge.

"I turned up to my first training session and thought to myself 'I can't do this', it was so hard. There was about 65 of us there and our trainer told us 'only half will make it'.

"After that, I loved it. I was training twice a week for eight weeks and it got harder and harder.

"I class myself as someone who is quite fit, I go to the gym around four times a week, but this was the hardest thing I've ever done physically.

"At the gym I tend to do a lot of running, high intensity training and classes such as spinning and cross-fit, however when I did the sparring during my boxing training it was even harder."

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Miss Watkins was trained by Nick Daglish at Llanederyn boxing gym in Cardiff before her fight. She added: "Sadly I lost my fight on a split decision, but I'm happy I made it all the way.

"I have never been as nervous as I was before the fight, I couldn't stop pacing around the room.

"I was still really nervous while I walked out to Where the Hood At? by DMX but luckily I had about 16 people there to support me; all of them were friends and family and their support was incredible."

She added her partner, service adviser Antonia Richards, 27, was 'proud' of her. She said: "Antonia was away on a hen do so couldn't make the event but a friend of mine FaceTimed her for it, she was very proud of me."

Miss Watkins also said: "I told my colleagues at work I had signed up to a boxing match and joked 'don't you get in enough fights at work already?'

"We get very hands on at work as it can get quite physical but it definitely helped me in the ring.

"I'm not a fighter and never have been, but this job has seen me rolling around the floor with 6ft-tall men and that helped me face up to the physicality of boxing.

"It gave me more guts and helped me stand up for myself."

She said of UWCB: "It's one of the best things I've ever done, I can't recommend it enough to anyone. All participants are in it together, I've made friends for life out of it."

UWCB participants take part in eight weeks of free professional boxing training before a showcase event.

Those taking part must raise at least £50 for Cancer Research UK and so far Ultra Events, the company behind it, has raised £18 million for the charity.