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Bermuda's boxing champ Teresa Perozzi has been getting in some intense sparring this week as she prepares for her world title showdown.

But the champ, who had New York based fighter Liz Mooney flown in to aid her preparations, says she is becoming increasingly frustrated with the slow progress on Bermuda's boxing facilities.

Plenty of promises were made after she won the title but so far little has been delivered. Sponsorship from Capital G enabled Mooney, who fought on the same card as Perozzi, when she won the World Middleweight Title in Trinidad last year, to come over for a week.

But Perozzi has relied on the goodwill of Chucky Renaud to open up Controversy Gym, his converted garage at Spanish Point, for them to use.

"If it wasn't for Chucky we'd have been sparring in a car-park," she said.

She said the sparring sessions with Mooney had been tougher and more intense than most of the fights she had had in her career. But the small taste of the kind of training that her rivals take for granted has made her realize what she is missing.

"It is amazing. It's a total different experience. It's good and bad because it's made me realize I've got a lot of work to do.

"She's a very good boxer, she's really well conditioned and she is extremely fit. We've been training every day since she got here on Sunday"

But she said her preparations would have been much better if she had a proper canvas roped ring to train in.

"It's just exposing that as hard as I think I am working, I am not working hard enough and what it comes down to is lack of facilities.

"Government promised a boxing gym after I won the title. It's been almost a year now and nothing has happened."

A site was identified at Admiralty House but the building needs a lot of work and so far nothing has been done. "I'm fighting a girl that is undefeated and is training out of Gleason's Gym in New York. I want to take on stronger opponents but it is difficult to prepare."

Mooney's trainer Rick Sweeney who came over with her from the States couldn't believe Perozzi had come so far without access to a proper gym.

"I appreciate what we have here. Chucky doesn't charge a cent. But at this professional level, I need something more."

Gladwyn Bean, president of the Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association, said progress was being made on that front.

He said money had been allocated for the gym at Admiralty House and the project was now in the hands of Works and Engineering.

He said the Boxing Association was pleased with the amount of money it had been offered and was hopeful that the gym would be up and running soon.

Perozzi described the news as a step in the right direction.[[In-content Ad]]

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