A look back at Perozzi's climb to the top

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 4: It’s been an eight-year climb for Teresa Perozzi to claim a major title since she first stepped into the ring in Las Vegas in 2003. Along the way she’s fought in four different venues in Bermuda and four other countries.

Her fights have included 12 for belts, including seven in one match.

The Bermuda Sun takes a look back at her road to glory.

Nicole Conant

March 3, 2003: Perozzi makes her debut in the glitz and glamour of Las Vagas at the Aladdin resort. She wins a four round split decision against winning three of four rounds on two judges scorecards.

Perozzi: 1-0; Conant: 1-1

Monica Nunez

June 6, 2004: In what would be a pattern for her career, Perozzi has a long layoff before taking on the battle tested and only once beaten Nunez at the CedarBridge Academy gym. All three judges score the fight 40-37 in favour of Nunez. Two matches later, Nunez would lose a title fight to Laila Ali, who would TKO her in nine. Nunez gets one more title shot in which she gets KO’d again, fights one more time and gets TKO’d and calls it a career.

Perozzi: 1-1; Nunez: 8-1

Elizabeth Kerin

March 5, 2005: Perozzi’s second fight in Bermuda has a more desirable outcome as she wins a unanimous four-round decision at the Number One Shed. Perozzi wins all four rounds on two judges scorecard while the third judge declares one round a draw with Perozzi a 40-37 winner.

Kerin bulks up as her next bout was against Vonda Ward for the IBA and WIBA heavyweight titles, but she gets knocked out in the second round and ends her career.

Perozzi: 2-1; Kerin: 3-3-1

Laura Ramsey

April 9, 2005: For the first time Perozzi has more experience than her opponent, but loses a well-fought four round unanimous decision.  It could have been a case of the Bermudian fighting too soon - just a month after her previous bout.

Ramsay would later face future Perozzi opponents Åsa Sandell and Natascha Ragosina. Ramsay would win the Global Boxing Union Female Middleweight title but would lose a WBC/WBA Super Middleweight title fight against Ragosina.

Perozzi: 2-2, Ramsey 2-0

Scroller Carrington

September 23, 2005: A controversial fight, but not for what happened in the ring. Carrington, was undefeated and the match was fought in her home country of Trinidad. Perozzi won on a six round TKO of Carrington and was supposed to be crowned the WIBC Middleweight champ, but disputed payment of the fees to the WIBC saw them not sanction the fight and try to keep Perozzi from the belt. The NABC stepped in gave them their belt.

Carrington would have two fights left in her, being TKO’d in three rounds for the WIBF Super Middleweight title fight against Ragosina in 2006.

Perozzi: 3-2, Carrington: 6-1-1

Martha Deitchman

February 18, 2006: It takes Perozzi a year to get back in the ring and it mainly serves as a tune-up for a NABC title defence. Deitchman was hardly one of the big names in women’s boxing and Perozzi wins handily as she takes the match 80-73, 80-72 and 80-73 on the three cards in the longest fight of her career.

The match would serve as Deitchman’s retirement party.

Perozzi: 4-2, Deitchman: 2-9-1

Roselin Morales

July 22, 2006: The undefeated Morales would be Perozzi’s first title defence as the two battled it in an outdoor ring at Clearwater Beach. Morales felt she was hard done by the Bermuda refs as Perozzi held on to a narrow unanimous decision. Perozzi won the 10 round fight 97-96, 96-94 and 97-95.

Morales, who was the only woman to beat Nunez before their match, wouldn’t fight again after losing the decision.

Perozzi: 5-2, Morales: 5-1

Yvonne Reis

June 23, 2007: Perozzi’s fourth fight in Bermuda is in her fourth different venue as she takes on Yvonne ‘Silk’ Reis in the Berkeley Institute gym. The American Reis was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Trinidad’s Jisselle Salandy for six world light middleweight titles. Reis fairs no better against Perozzi as the Bermudian wins a unanimous 59-57, 58-56, 58-57 decision.

Perozzi: 6-2, Reis: 6-12-1

Åsa Sandell

September 15, 2007: Having strung together four wins in a row, Perozzi starts to gain a following in the world boxing community and gets a title shot against Åsa Sandell in Karlstad, Sweden. The two duke it out for the World Boxing Empire Middleweight title as well as the World Boxing Council International Championship. It was the closest of fights as two judges rule it 57-57 and a third 57-58 in favour of Sandell, so it ends in a draw. Sandell, who previously lost fights to Ali and Ramsay, retires after she can’t win in her home country.

Perozzi: 6-2-1, Sandell: 6-3-2

Natascha Ragosina

March 15, 2008: The biggest fight of Perozzi’s career  as she tangled against the Russian for seven super middleweight belts, including the WBA and WBC. Fought in Germany, Perozzi loses by a landslide on all three cards. The judges scored it 100-90, 99-90, and 99-91. Pre-fight Perozzi has her braids done by someone inexperienced at doing them and it comes loose early in the match, causing her problems throughout the fight.

Ragosina would have five more fights over the next two years before hanging up her gloves undefeated at 22-0 with 13 Kos.

Perozzi: 6-3-1; Ragosina: 17-0

Cimberly Harris

July 24, 2010: Harris is a journeywoman boxer known for going the distance and here she served to help shake off the ring rust for Perozzi. The two mixed it up at the Berkeley Institute gym with Perozzi winning a unanimous decision.

Perozzi: 7-3-1, Harris: 5-15-0

Christina Hammer

October 23, 2010: The two battled it out in Germany for the vacant WBO Middleweight title. The judges clearly ruled in Hammer’s favour with a 98-92, 97-93, 98-92 unanimous decision. Hammer has since added the WBF middleweight title as well and is still undefeated.

Perozzi: 7-4-1, Hammer: 8-0

Lorissa Rivas

December 30, 2011: Fighting for the first time in Tobago, Perozzi takes a split decision over Rivas to take the vacant WBA Middleweight title. The American and Venezuelan judges supplied by the WBA had Perozzi winning 97-94 and 96-95 respectively, while the WBC’s Guyanese judge saw Rivas ahead 96-94.

Rivas previous match was a loss against Lori Nelson for the WBC middleweight title.

Perozzi: 8-4-1; Rivas: 4-3