A SINGLE mother-of-two who fought depression and won claims exercise is the key to success and happiness.

Blonde-haired and blue-eyed beauty Sylvia Ackermann, who lives off Station Road, Harrow looks more like a model than a trained fighter to some.

But after two years of training with Harrow ABC and Stonebridge Boxing Club in Harlesden, the 38-year-old has boxed her way to success after taking home her first major tournament victory at the Haringey Box Cup in June.

The competition saw 391 fighters weigh in at Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, for the eighth year of the contest, with Ms Ackerman fighting her way to the top title.

She said: “I was training at Stonebridge at the time and the trainers entered me into it – and being me, anything that comes up I know I have to take my chance.

“It was absolutely terrifying. The place is huge, there were four rings and nearly 400 boxers plus their coaches - I’ve never seen so many people in one room.

“It was just totally overwhelming but somehow it just worked out and I managed to fight my way to win.”

Although recovering from an ankle injury, the retail worker then took on her second major challenge and became the national lightweight champion in the ABA Novice Championships.

She said: “I’m tricky, I’m more of a skilful boxer than an aggressive one and try to trick my opponent by being unpredictable.

“For me it is about not getting hit but hitting. A lot of boxers these days don’t care, they just go at it all guns blazing but to me it is more important to use my skill and move the way I have been trained.”

But despite her national success and countless victories in the two years she has been boxing, the single mother of two has silently been suffering from chronic depression since her youth.

She said: “The thing is people didn’t really know I was suffering from it, because I hid it out of embarrassment and shame, and just wanted to avoid discussing it.

“It has so much stigma attached that I would never talk about it, and with depression it is the people who try to hide it and run from it that often need the most help.

Now, as champion, she says she feels more confident in herself and wants to encourage others to take the ‘small steps’ she did that helped her overcome the bad days.

She added: “Boxing has really helped me to get past the illness and I feel a lot more able to talk about it in public and do a lot of things I would have never done before.

“I have come such a long way from where I was. Before I used to get anxiety just travelling on trains but now I can do these normal, everyday things that most people take for granted but for me they are huge – and it is all down to exercise.

“I had been trying to kick it under the rug for so many years, like many people are still doing, and that’s the wrong thing, that’s not the way to deal with it.

“It is all about taking small steps. Just start with getting out for a walk in the fresh air, maybe take it a step further when you feel comfortable and join a gym.

“You don’t need to rush it. I never dreamed I would be where I am today but look how far I have come.”

Ms Ackerman will next step into the ring on November 29 for the North West Divisional Championships, but adds her main hope would be to fight for England.

She said: “I’d have never dreamed of saying this two years ago but I would be so proud and honoured if England came calling and asked me to fight for my country.”