Saint John boxer Charlie Cavanagh vies for Olympic spot at Pan Am Games

Saint John boxer Charlie Cavanagh is fighting for a spot in the Paris Olympics on Thursday evening at the Pan American Games in Chile.

"It would mean the world to me. I've been wanting to go the Olympics forever," Cavanagh told CBC's Information Morning Saint John. 

The women's 66-kilogram semifinals are scheduled for 7 p.m., AT. The action will be livestreamed at cbc.ca/sports.

The top two finishers in the event will qualify for the Olympics. 

When she first started boxing, Cavanagh said she looked up to Canadian Olympic boxers Mandy Bujold, Mary Spencer and Ariane Fortin.

Her 2020 attempt to qualify for the Tokyo games fell short but Cavanagh has been training hard and said she feels good about her chances this time around.

"I'm ready. It's time and I'm excited," she said.

Cavanagh said she felt unusually relaxed and happy ahead of her first match at the Pan Am Games earlier this week, which she won against Lucia Perez of Argentina. 

"I was so happy to finally get in the ring and fight after over a month of being out of Canada.

"I'm looking forward to my next fight."

Preparation is done at this point, she said. "It's just a waiting game to get in the ring."

She'll square off against Team U.S.A.'s Morelle McCane.

Cavanagh said she has an idea what to expect. She fought McCane last spring in Finland. McCane won that bout, but Cavanagh knows she's improved since then.

"I let her mind games get the best of me."

She's confident in her ability to turn things around this time.

"Every person who's ever beat me, when I've fought them again, I've beaten them.

"I'm excited to get that win back."

She's been training with the national team in Montreal for the past year and said Cavanagh it's done wonders for her development.

"I didn't just gain a coaching staff, but I gained sports psychologists, and I gained access to medical clinics and physiotherapists and dietitians and neuro people that are involved in my day to day routine."

Having a full team committed to her success has made it a lot easier to focus on just showing up and doing the work, she said, "and working every day to be my best."

"It's been a beautiful journey watching her skill development," said Joe Blanchard, president of the Saint John Golden Gloves Boxing Club. 

"She's physically ready, she's mentally ready. This is her time."

Blanchard recalled when Cavanagh first came to the club with her father when she was 13.

At first she was too shy to get in the ring, he said. But by the time she was 16, she was competing against 20-year-olds.

In 2018, she was the youth world champion.

Ranked 2nd in the world

She's currently ranked second in the world in her weight class.

"She's one of the young ladies that other countries are watching out for," said Blanchard.

He knows Cavanagh studies intensely before every fight.

Cavanaugh said she planned to watch some sparring videos with her current coach and come up with a simple game plan for Thursday's match, but she'd try not to overthink it.