Crystal Wright has always enjoyed the fitness side of boxing, but she never could have dreamed that she'd become an amateur national champion at 39 years of age. However, that's exactly what occurred after the Albion Park talent claimed the Australian amateur welterweight belt with a unanimous points decision over Lisa Turner in Windsor recently. The bout was 4x2 minute rounds, with Wright winning every round against the Hawkesbury local. It's been a rapid rise for the mum-of-four, who only seriously took up the sport 12 months ago. Wright won her first regional title at the Illawarra-based Battle of the Businesses earlier this year before going on to secure her inaugural Australian amateur title in Windsor. "I'm absolutely stoked. I worked really hard and it's really nice to get rewarded," Wright - who trains out of Grechys Boxing and Fitness - told the Mercury. "The camp was probably 12 weeks all up, but it was eight weeks of full-on doing the weight cut, no drinking and intensive training and sparring. It's definitely one of my biggest achievements, given the fact it was an Australian title. My first win was at the local Battle of the Businesses earlier this year, and I had my kids there, which was pretty special too. But this one was special because of how hard I worked for it. "I really wanted this win because I'd worked my absolutely butt off and done as much as I could to get myself in the best shape. I'd lost a fight in between, so I really wanted to take the lessons from that, improve on that and give myself the best opportunity to win." Wright has always been passionate about sport, including having a background in league tag. She had boxed on and off "for a long time" for fitness, but the thought of entering the ring only crossed her mind around nine years ago. Life's challenges then got in the way, before the dream became a reality in August or September 2022. Wright was already training at Grechys Boxing and Fitness and she approached her trainer, Grechys owner James Grech about the possibility of a bout. Grech has now become her boxing coach. "I wanted to do it for a long time, it was like a bucket list thing to get in the ring. So I thought I'd do it and I went to James and said 'I want to have a fight'," Wright said. "I got a couple of exhibition fights late last year and then tried so hard to get a fight at the start of this year but, because of my age, it was pretty difficult to get a match. So I couldn't get a fight until the Battle of the Businesses and got some momentum from that, and got a couple of more fights after that. "I started training with James about three years ago. I'd gone through a tough stage in my life and wanted to get back into it for my mental health. I walked into a great gym and it's the best decision that I ever made, because my life has changed completely since then. "I finally got to do the thing that I wanted to do for so long. I'm now loving it and I'm addicted, and as soon as I walked out of the ring the other day, I wanted to get back in." Grech added that Wright was showing great potential in the ring. "Crystal always puts in 110 per cent with all of her training inside the gym, and outside of the gym as well," he said. "That includes having a strict diet, running and attending another gym to do weights. She puts in a lot of work and time away from her family to do it. She's made a lot of sacrifice but it's paid off. "Our next big goal is to get her into the World Masters Championship next year. If she can score a world title, that will just top it off."
