BY day, Roz Richardson is an office manager, but out of the office, you definitely wouldn’t want to mess with her.

Roz, 40, is in serious training for a competition which aims to prove boxing is no longer a male preserve.

The Wickford mum Roz is preparing to climb in the ring at one of London’s most famous boxing venues at a charity event on November 27.

Roz, who works at Proteus Waterproofing in Rayleigh, packs something of a punch, according to Chris Barnes, her trainer at the Ripped Gym Fight Club in Basildon.

Colleagues at Proteus, as well as the company’s roofing contractor customers are getting behind her with sponsorship for two charities.

She will be boxing in aid of the Forget-me-not suite at Basildon Hospital, which helps to women who have miscarriages and stillborn babies, and Bulldog Rescue, which works with and finds new homes for unwanted pure-bred bulldogs.

Roz said: “At 30, I was a single mum.

“Since then, I have completed two degrees and met and married the right man. Now I’m looking for a fresh challenge.

“I have no idea who I’ll be fighting yet, but she had better be ready.”

Roz is now training as much as four nights a week and is quite philosophical about the outcome, simply asking: “What’s the worst that can happen?

"A black eye? A thick lip? I guess I’ll just have to duck.

“People keep telling me boxing is not for girls, but I’m determined to prove them wrong.”

The venue for Roz’s debut in the ring will be York Hall, in Bethnal Green, East London, which has a long and rich boxing history, hosting thousands of fights featuring legendary boxers such as Ricky Hatton, Nigel Benn – even Ronnie and Reggie Kray.

On November 27, the hall will be filled for a White Collar Boxing night, hosted by Ripped Gym. White Collar Boxing gives people with no experience the chance to slug it out in the ring for three short, but very gruelling, three-minute rounds.

Roz will be spending the coming weeks training hard tomake she’s fighting fit when the bell rings and the seconds step out of the ring.

To support her, visit justgiving .com/ripped-charity-boxing