Scragg backing for women at 2012
Wolverhampton's first female world champion Lyndsey Scragg has thrown her weight behind the decision to introduce women's boxing to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The International Olympic Committee voted on Thursday to lift the barrier on the last all-male summer sport in three categories - flyweight, lightweight and middleweight.
Scragg, the city's first female professional boxer, had a long career in the amateur ranks before opting to punch for pay in 2007, going on to lift the Global Boxing Council title in June after just 10 fights.
Before that, the now 30-year-old represented England at the 2006 European Amateur Championships in Poland - two years before the last Olympics in Beijing.
How she wishes Thursday's decision had come four years earlier.
Scragg said: "If this was introduced at the last games, with where I was then, I would have gone for a place in the England team. But I am not bitter in any way, this is great news for women's boxing.
"Not everybody seems pleased with the news, I saw an interview with Amir Khan and he didn't look too happy. He is not the only one, so it's up to our fighters to prove them wrong.
"I am sure with a gold medal, a few minds would quickly change."
Khan's comments raised the ire of the females in the boxing world, with 2004's Olympic silver medallist warning women could be "knocked out" in the ring and "shouldn't fight."
Scragg has only been cut once in her pro career and has never been stopped. She never suffered a serious injury as an amateur, either.
And the super-featherweight rates her world as far more dangerous than what is ahead at 2012.
She said: "Amateur boxing is a lot less dangerous than the professional game, let me assure you. They are two very different sports and that is important for people to understand.
"As a pro, you score points with liver and kidney shots, as an amateur you tend to score more to the head - where you wear a guard anyway."
The champion's next fight in the paid ranks is against Big Brother contestant Angel McKenzie on September 18 at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
To prepare she is headed to Liverpool to train with European Championship hopeful Tasha Jones, a prospect her professional sparring partner believes could be a lock for 2012.
Scragg added: "Southpaw's are tricky and she is very fast. For me, all the right tools to do very well."
