From that day onwards, Dhesi never looked back. As a youth amateur, she collected three national titles, a European silver medal and three international crowns.
But it was never just about accolades. Dhesi wanted to break stereotypes by making the move into professional boxing.
However, turning pro brought new challenges and a fresh spotlight, particularly from within her own community.
“I was asked ‘What if you get hurt, who will marry you?’, ‘Shouldn’t you be in the kitchen?’ – stuff like that, it was quite negative – and even, ‘What’s your plan B?’.
“But my plan A is boxing and my plan B is boxing,” she says.
In May, Dhesi answered those questions with her fists when she made an immediate impact on her pro debut, winning by knockout. The clip went viral and so did her story.
“All of a sudden, the same people who were doubting my potential were praising me for making the Punjabi and Sikh communities proud,” she adds.
“These people don’t want to know you when you’re working your way up but now they’re, like, straight up on me. They’ve realised I put on a show and it’s no joke. Boxing is my life.”