A Tauranga woman has swapped her favourite beer glass for boxing gloves as she prepares for Battle of the Brave this weekend.

Tiarna Needham decided to start hitting the gym as a way to “get in shape for summer and to stop going to the pub straight after work”.

This was a decision her and her best friend decided to do four months ago.

“I never thought I'd be one of those gym people who have all the protein powders and other supplements in their cupboard, not that I have anything against that but I now, am one of those people.

“Every evening I'm preparing all of my shakers for the next day, forever washing gym clothes because I've been training two to three times every day, packing my gym bag and making sure I have a clean set of gym clothes, a set of work clothes, my mouth guard and my boxing wraps and gloves.”

Tiarna says when they started, they didn’t take it very seriously.

“If anything, we laughed most of the time and probably did nothing more than disrupt the whole class.”

Then the Battle of the Brave Corporate Boxing Show came up.

She says her bestie asked if she would ever train and compete in a fight.

“I laughed at her and said no way, this is nothing more than a short term hobby that’s not the pub and to attempt to get in shape.

“Well, I decided that on the last night of registration for this corporate fight, I thought that it would be a great idea to ask my boss if he'd sponsor me to fight, and well he said yes and it went from there.”

Tiarna says she had no idea what she was in for, how hard training would be to get in shape and fit enough to last 3x 2 minute rounds, how sore her body and muscles she didn't even know she had were going to be.

“Well now I know how hard all of that is and hope that all of my hard work and training pays off on Saturday when I'll be in that ring trying to remember all I've learnt.

“I have a massive support crew, selling two corporate tables between a bunch of good work colleagues and another bunch of brilliant good friends.

“I thank you all for the support that has been given so far and that will be given on the night.”