Olympic gold medallist Lauren Price set to turn professional

Price won gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year Credit: PA

Welsh Olympic gold medalist Lauren Price has announced she is turning professional.

It had been expected that the Ystrad Mynach boxer would switch to the pro ranks, but the news has now been announced ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games where Price could have represented Wales.

Price, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics last year and has also represented Wales in football, made the announcement alongside fellow boxer and partner Karriss Artingstall.

The pair join Boxxer promotions, run by Ben Shalom, whose shows feature on Sky Sports.

Speaking to ITV Wales, Price said: "I'm just over the moon. For me it was a no brainer. As an amateur I had been to every major tournament and won gold.

"I've had some downtime, women's boxing is booming in the pro ranks and I'm really looking forward and excited to be part of it.

"I made history as the first ever Welsh Olympic champion and the support I have had since I came back has been insane."

Price was one of Team GB's stars at the Tokyo Olympics Credit: PA

Targeting a title shot in 14 to 18 months time, Price said there is no better time to turn pro.

"The sport has come on leaps and bounds. In the pro ranks you have Clarissa Shields, Savannah Marshall and Natasha Jonas and the quality is really high," she continued.

"Even though I have the amateur background, the professional game is very different.

"I'm just going to take my time and take one fight at a time. I won't to focus on one weight class at a time.

"Everybody's dream is to be a multi-weight world champion, but I'm going to take my time, start off at Welterweight, and obviously there is room to move after that."