Shelley Watts won’t defend her gold medal at 2018 Comm Games

COMMONWEALTH Games gold medallist Shelley Watts has withdrawn from the quest to defend her title after not being able to drop to her fighting weight of 60kg to qualify.

Shelley Watts will not defend her gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Pic: Adam Yip

COMMONWEALTH Games gold medallist Shelley Watts has withdrawn from the quest to defend her title after not being able to drop to her fighting weight of 60kg to qualify.

Watts was scheduled to fight this weekend at the Australian Championships this week but announced on Instagram on Thursday that she would not be competing.

Watts said in her announcement that since the 2016 Rio Olympics she had struggled with adrenal fatigue, eating issues, mental issues and niggling injuries, which had all played a part at being behind schedule in her training.

The boxer had been training for a period in Wollongong, but recently relocated to Port Macquarie near her home town of Laurieton, to take up a job as a lawyer, which she graduated from earlier this year.

Watts made the decision to withdraw from the qualifiers after not making weight. Pic: Alex Coppel.

“In the last few months, with the help and support of some amazing people, I moved back to my home town, started my PLT, have been working in criminal law and most importantly, fell back Iin love with boxing,” she said in the post.

“The ring is my playground again, I have been training my butt off (literally!) and am loving being in the PMBC gym!”

She finished by saying that she “cannot wait to get back into the ring when the time is right.”

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Originally published as Shelley Watts won’t defend her gold medal at 2018 Comm Games