Krista Dyer is set to step back into the ring in unfamiliar circumstances but will be standing opposite a very familiar opponent.

The 30-year-old is well-known in fighting circles as a wushu fighter, a Chinese kickboxing combat sport, and recently won the gold medal at the Pan American Wushu Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

However, she will enter the ring, not as wushu fighter but as an orthodox boxer, when she stars at the Fairmont Southampton as part of the Bermuda Boxing Federation Redemption fight card, headlined by Nikki Bascome on Saturday night.

Having agreed to switch sports to face a visiting Jamaican boxer, Dyer’s bout was cancelled and, with a weird twist of fate, she will now face fellow wushu fighter Sara Buczek, of Canada, whom she beat in a previous fight in their more familiar discipline.

“It will be interesting coming up against Sara again,” Dyer said.

“We will both have to remember not to lift our feet and kick one another!

“After the cancellation. I had to find a new opponent and she was game. We both decided just to take the challenge of a new sport and so it will be interesting to see how we adapt. It’s funny because I’m not sure if it’s a rematch or more of a clean slate for both of us, as it will be boxing and not wushu.

“Either way, I’m feeling pretty confident. My hands are looking sharp and the training I’ve done has certainly raised my game.

“I’ve picked up more boxing techniques and so I’m feeling good. Even through wushu the training has always been focused on improving my jab and use punch combinations, the skills are there; I just have to leave out the kicks.”

Although the Bermuda Sanshou Association fighter may be unsure of what to expect from the bout itself against Buczek, one thing she can be sure of is the vociferous vocal support she will receive from an expected capacity home crowd.

“The biggest thing from these nights that I always take away is the buzz of the atmosphere,” Dyer added. “It is always cool to fight at home and have the whole country in my corner. The encouragement always helps me to do well. It must be how people like Mick Jagger feel walking out at a concert; it’s like you’re walking on air. If you’re feeling nervous behind the scenes, that just disappears when you walk out and step into the ring.

“It’s a huge boost, you feel invincible and is exactly what you need going into that sort of situation. I can’t wait to experience that again.”

Undercard, page 38