Teresa Perozzi will be taking on the world when she embarks on her toughest boxing assignment to date next week.

The 27-year-old book-keeper will be representing the Island at the inaugural Women's Amateur Boxing World Championships which are being held in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Her inclusion among fighters from as far afield as Russia, China, Ireland and India represents a major U-turn by the Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association (BABA).

It was just a couple of months ago that Perozzi, who only turned to the sport when asked to fill in at a local fight night at the 11th hour, failed to get official sanctioning from the body to take part in the Pan American Championships at the same venue.

At that time BABA executive Craig Morfitt said BABA was concerned for Perozzi's welfare, describing her as "very much a novice" and saying it would not be in her interest to "throw her in at the deep end".

Perozzi did in fact travel to the US but flight delays meant she ultimately had to watch from the sidelines.

However, last week BABA held an Annual General Meeting at which a new committee was elected and Perozzi, who ironically now holds the post of public relations officer with the association, was sanctioned for the trip to the Worlds.

"The other people (who made up the previous BABA administration) had not seen me, they had not seen me train," she said. "We saw the competition (at the Pan Ams) and after seeing the fights it's definitely not beyond me at all. We are confident that I can do well."

Perozzi will be competing in the middleweight division of the tournament.

"In my weight class there are not a lot of girls, so there is a good opportunity for me," said the fighter, who will line up against fighters from Russia, Sweden, Egypt, China, Romania, Hungary, the USA and Canada.

Perozzi, coached by Allan (Forty) Rego, believed she was in excellent shape for the event, having been training non-stop since well before the Pan-Ams.

"I haven't stopped training - I've been running, sparring and doing bagwork. We are also doing more technical work, more of the science of boxing," she said. "I have got it down now so it is a case of fine-tuning and putting it into practice. It's all well and good to know it when you are training but you need to make sure you have it in competition."

Perozzi said she would be confident against whoever was drawn against her in the opening bout, but would prefer it to be American Robyn Labuda.

"I am hoping I get someone from the USA. I don't really know why but I've heard a lot about the Russians and Swedish. They are very powerful and I want to avoid them - until the end," she said.

If she does go all the way it will probably involve three fights.

"I think I will do very well. It's hard to say but I'm thinking I'll at least get to the finals," Perozzi said.