'I'm not willing to lose my World Champion title'

Hannah Turner will defend her WKU K1 World Champion title in Germany during a contracted rematch

A world champion Muay Thai fighter said she was not willing to lose her title during an upcoming rematch.

Hannah Turner, 25, who trains at the Unit 1 Gym in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, is in final preparations to defend her WKU K1 World Champion belt.

She won against Michaela Michl at the Olympia Eisstadion in March and the pair face off again during a contracted rematch on 14 September.

Turner said she wanted to put up even more of a fight and added: "I'm just ready to get in there and show them what I can do [and] be better than what I was last time. [The belt] is staying here, it belongs here. I'm not going to let it go without a fight."

She continued: "I've got pressure on me this time. I went over there last time and it didn't matter, if I lost I lost.

"Now I'm defending it, it means more to me. I don't want to lose it so I've got to put the effort it."

Turner, who has been doing Muay Thai for 16 years, described Michl as a "strong" and "wicked" opponent.

However, winning the world champion title was "an unreal feeling", Turner said.

"It's what you work towards your whole life doing this sport," she added.

"You're working towards being the best you can be and then to achieve it finally is something I can't really describe but it was a really good feeling."

Turner will take on Michl during a Steko's Fight Night which hosts and promotes fights in Germany

Turner works a "normal job" to help fund her trips in the sport and said she had sacrificed a lot over the years for her success.

She is now coming to the end of her training camp before she soon heads back to Germany.

Her stepfather, Richard Gent, has coached her for many years and said she was ready, "if not better than last time".

"You've got to go out there and prove it wasn't just a fluke the first time," he said.

"It's interesting because we've got to second guess what [Michl is] going to do differently to then counter that.

"We're confident we'll find the answers to whatever she comes up with."

Richard Gent is Turner's step-father and has been training her for a number of years

Turner explained working professionally with her stepfather occasionally had led to them butting heads, but she was extremely appreciative of his guidance.

"It's going to happen with your family, but he wants the best for me and he's done absolutely everything he can to help me," she explained.

"I wouldn't be here without him so credit to him massively."

As well as fighting, Turner helps train younger athletes at the Bury St Edmunds gym.

She hoped to inspire them to follow in her footsteps.

"I'm lucky I can give back to some of the kids now, try and show them the way like I had off Rich," she continued.

"Seeing them succeed and doing what I did, I absolutely love it.

"If I make them better than what I am then I've done my job.

"Once I retire that's definitely what I want to do, bringing through the next generation and showing them they can do it as well."