A WOMAN is preparing to enter the boxing arena to raise money for charity.

Sharon Johnson, 45, from Pocklington, is in training to take part in the Ultra White Collar Boxing event at York Barbican to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

Sharon has undertaken a major fitness regime to compete in the event, on Saturday, July 14, which will include people who have never boxed before, and said she had already lost a stone in weight, with training carried out at the Francis Scaife Centre and The Chokdee Martial Fitness Academy in York.

Sharon will be will be matched with a suitable opponent on the night and will compete over three two-minute rounds, and decided to take part in the competition after losing her mother to cancer.

She said: “I lost my mum to this awful disease two years ago and she unfortunately never had the chance to be able to fight it.

“I am working really hard for this and am currently on an intense eight-week training programme. I couldn’t run around the cricket pitch when I first started but now I can go around four times without a problem. Each day I work on different parts of my body to get ready for the fight. One day its the top half and another the bottom.”

Sharon’s personal trainer Nigel Sharp said: “We have concentrated on getting up to a good level of fitness. Working in the gym one day and the swimming pool the next day.

“Sharon has been undergoing resistance and fitness training, and replicating the boxing skills she is learning in York. Her attitude has been excellent and I think she will do well in front of her family and friends at the event.”

Sharon said she had already chosen her

She said: “Of course I’m nervous, I’m dreading it, it’s the walk out that bothers me more than the fight. I’ll have my family and friends there at a VIP table at ringside.

“I have to go by the stage name my brother chose for me, Shazza ‘Jailbird’ Johnson. He thinks it’s very hilarious, and sponsored me money to do it, so I’m willing to do it for that reason. I’ve no idea how much I’ll raise, I’d just like to raise as much as possible.”

To support Sharon’s challenge and raise money for Cancer Research UK, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/sharon-sehgal1