Women's boxing is coming to Bermuda next month when the Police Boxing Section celebrate their 20th anniversary of international fights with a 13-bout card at Stonington gym.

The card will feature boxers from the Police departments of Boston, Denver and New York along with fighters who are members of the Bermuda Police Section, though not necessarily Police offiers.

But at least two and perhaps three female fights on the November 5 card could turn out to be the main attraction considering the recent worldwide surge in the popularity of women's boxing.

Long gone are the days of Friday night fights at BAA gym when the likes of Clarence Hill, Troy Darrell, Quinn Paynter and Roy Johnson delighted local crowds. And boxing has been almost dormant for several years since.

In those days women's boxing was unheard of, but that has changed recently with females now featured on major fight cards overseas. And they are taken very seriously, too.

The bouts lined up here include local fighter Zara Payne against Paulette Deaz of the Denver Police while the card is also hoped to feature Meredith Brady, provided she recovers from a broken finger.

Recently, Bermuda Police travelled to Denver and it was while there that they got to see an exciting fight between Abby Hurd from Denver Police and kickboxer Jernny Anier of Boston.

"I honestly think at least two of the three girls bouts will raise some eyebrows,'' said Terry Maxwell, secretary of the Police boxing section.

"Those two girls fought before on our card in Denver and they absolutely brought the house down.

"They were absolutely brilliant and I think the men in Bermuda will get quite a shock when they see these two girls.'' Maxwell noted that almost as many women as men train at the Police gym and he put the increased interest in the sport among females down to the fitness craze, Taebo, which involves kicking and punching.

"We have training sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays and we have a lot of young girls and women come and train with us and they are not afraid to get stuck in,'' said Maxwell.

"It's becoming increasingly more popular in America and we have a lot of women here in Bermuda who are really keen to fight. The girls have been training real hard in the gym and I think they are going to go for it.'' Some exciting male talent is also emerging, Maxwell pointed out. He spoke of 21-year-old middleweight novice, Jegean Raynor, who is one of the best trainers at the gym and heavyweight hairdresser Sean Weaver whom he describes as a "fabulous fighter''.

Policeman Jeff Baron, also a middleweight, is another fighter with great promise, said Maxwell. Baron will fight a boxer from Denver whom he has met previously.

"Jegean is a stylish fighter and I think he is going to turn the crowd on,'' said Maxwell. "He's something special.'' Maxwell is excited about the resurgence in interest in the sport locally, and praised the support offered by Dewars who will be the card sponsors.

"Without them this would not be possible,'' Maxwell stressed. "Their sponsorship has really helped us. We went into a decline mostly because of the manpower situation here, but we, the committee, never really let it die.

"We've managed to get a lot more local guys interested, mostly because of the sponsorship.

"This will put us back on the map in a big way. Next year we will have official fights from overseas and I'm hoping we will put on the Black Tie affair again. It certainly won't be for lack of sponsorship, Dewars are really looking after us.'' Another trip overseas is also in the works for next year. Earlier this year they took a couple of youngsters from Mannix's Gym in Somerset to Denver to gain some exposure.

"We're sending two boxers and a couple of officials to Boston on the 21st of this month for an event over there and that's also being sponsored by Dewars,'' said Maxwell.

"Next year we will reciprocate by going to Boston in the early part of the year when we will have a full card against them to celebrate the 20th anniversary. And in the summer we will go to Denver to fight the Denver Police Department again.''