Teresa Perozzi could fight old rival Scroller Carrington from Trinidad for the currently vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) title in February, it has emerged.

Perozzi, who claimed her North American Boxing Council (NABC) crown from Carrington last year following a controversial bout in the Caribbean, was informed by the WBA last week that she had earned the right to compete for their prestigious belt and has since been in search of a suitable opponent for the fight.

And Bermuda’s top female boxer confirmed yesterday that “everything was in place” for a fight with Carrington — though she now has to wait for Trinidadian promoter Boxu Potts to get the event organised for the end of February in Bermuda.

Perozzi travelled to Trinidad in September last year to fight Scroller for the Women’s International Boxing Council (WIBC) title, beating her via technical knockout.

However, a major row between the WIBC and promoter Potts over whether the bout had legitimately met all the governing body’s sanctioning requirements led to the full-time massage therapist being stripped of that belt and handed the then-vacant NABC title instead.

Perozzi has since held on to the crown through two points’ victories over American’s Martha Deitchman and Roselin Morales — both on local soil — though her emotional outburst after the Morales fight aside, she has made no secret of her desire to challenge for a more important world title.

The WBA is part of what has come to be regarded as the “big three” global boxing associations along with the World Boxing Council and the International Boxing Federation — with all professional fighters thirsting after their respective belts.

“The chance to fight for the WBA belt is not something I want to miss, but I’m not involved at all with the organisation of the event so I will just have to wait and see what happens,” said Perozzi, who pledged to hang up her gloves after her last fight — a points victory over American slugger Morales at Clearwater Beach in July — out of frustration at what she still sees as a lack of proper training facilities and funding for the sport on the Island.

“I spoke to Boxu recently and he told me he’s coming here very soon to speak with the relevant people and to get the whole thing up and running. I’m not holding my breath though — he tried to put on an event three years ago and it ended up falling through.

“From my perspective, I’m very keen to get back in the ring and fight but all I can do right now is continue with all the conditioning work I’ve been doing and then begin to spar once I’ve heard the fight is definitely on.”

Asked where her renewed appetite for the sport had come from, Perozzi pointed to the influence of Canadian trainer Yves Paul as a major factor in her decision to continue training and fighting.

“I was beginning to gain a bit of weight and was losing some of my motivation — but Yves came along at just the right time,” she said.

“I kind of rediscovered my passion for boxing and I remembered how much I enjoyed the training and the preparation. We’ve been working together since September and it’s really helped me regain my focus and enthusiasm.”