Inspired by the world's No.1 female boxer, Laila Ali, Island fighter Teresa Perozzi came out with all guns blazing in her professional debut.

Middleweight Perozzi, who left Bermuda for Los Angeles last year, put paid to the challenge of hometown favourite Nicole Conant at the weekend, winning a split decision at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

The bout, on the undercard of the William Abelyan-Jose Luis Tula North American Boxing Organisation featherweight title fight, saw Perozzi win by a score of 169 to 164 at the end of the four round contest.

The win, over a fighter who knocked out her last opponent in the first round in her own pro debut, was all the more impressive when the fact Perozzi only had eight days notice is considered.

"Since the beginning of this year I let several managers at the gym I am training at know that I was ready to turn professional and one of them gave my name to a promoter in Vegas," she explained from the West coast of the USA.

"When I got the call I immediately became nervous and excited at the same time. I have waited so long for this and now it is finally here and I have only eight days to be ready."

In an effort to get in the best possible shape, both physically and mentally, for her encounter with the former Nevada State Strongwoman champion, Perozzi turned to Ali for advice.

"Back in January I was asked to come and spar with Laila for a few weeks to help her get ready for her February 14 fight with a left handed fighter as I am left handed," she said. "Those few weeks provided me with an invaluable insight into the life of a professional athlete and what is required to be at the top of the game.

"Laila is, in my opinion, the best female boxer out there.

"She trains very hard and deserves all of her success. We became friends during this period and she and her husband were instrumental in helping me mentally make the leap into professional boxing. She felt that I had the talent, and most importantly the heart, to do this and if I was really serious, and put in the training required, I could really be successful."

As a result Perozzi said she called Ali up to ask her about her opponent.

"She felt that it would be a good, tough fight for me and I could handle it if I stuck to what I knew and was not intimidated by her looks," she said. "She felt that we were about the same skill level and our punching power was about the same."

Ali travelled to Vegas for the fight and gave Perozzi a pep talk beforehand and even involved herself in the pre-fight preparation.

The words worked as, despite the significance of the occasion, the fighter said all her nerves disappeared once she stepped into the ring.

"The first round was a bit slow while we felt each other out and I feel she may have won that one," said Perozzi. "But afterwards I was told that I was the stronger puncher and that for every punch she gave me I gave her two and three back. She was pretty tough and more of a boxer puncher. There was no brawling or swinging.

"It was great because I threw straight clean punches through out."

Though she knew she had done well, Perozzi said had no idea which way the judges would go.

"I was in Vegas going up against the home town favourite. They had made a huge deal about her, given her a lot of coverage and they really hyped her up," she said. "One thing I've learned about boxing is that it is not always fair and the likelihood of me getting the win and upsetting their champ was not likely.

"When they announced that it was a split decision I was relieved because I said to myself 'Thank God, at least once of the judges felt I won it'.

"When they said the winner was the pride of Los Angeles it still didn't register I had won. I'm so used to thinking of myself from Bermuda that it didn't click right away.

"But then my trainer jumped in the ring and picked me up. It was the most incredible feeling of my life."Looking back to when she first started out in Bermuda, Perozzi said she found it hard to believe what she had achieved.

"Afterwards we went back to the dressing room and Laila and her husband and my trainer and several others were there. I told them that this was a dream come true for me because I come from a place where I was told not too long ago when I was trying to go to the Pan Am Championships that I wasn't good enough and wasn't ready for a higher level of competition," she said. "I trained out of a garage with one heavy bag and am now in Vegas, on television, with Laila Ali as my friend and surrounded by people who care about me and my success."