NEW YORK -- An opponent has been announced for the professional boxing debut of former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding on Feb. 22 on a card featuring Mike Tyson in Memphis, Tenn.

	“	I've been in a lot of fights, they just haven't been in the ring. ”
		— Samantha Browning, Tonya Harding's first opponent

Harding, who lives in the Vancouver, Wash., area, will face Samantha Browning of Mantachie, Miss., who also is making her pro debut.

Browning "has been knocking out sparring partners in the gym for weeks and is ready to dislocate Tonya's jaw," Tommy Locastro, Browning's manager and trainer, said Monday in the same release.

Locastro also called Browning "a 21-year-old bar brawler" and quoted her as saying, "I've been in a lot of fights, they just haven't been in the ring."

In the release, Browning vowed to knock out Harding, adding, "She couldn't whup me with a hubcap in her hand."

Harding gave Paula Jones a pummeling on the Fox network show "Celebrity Boxing" last March.

"It is my goal to be a future, undisputed bantamweight champion," Harding said in November. "My proven athletic ability and competitive nature will help this dream become a reality."

The two-time U.S. figure skating champion was convicted in 1994 of hindering prosecution in a plot to injure rival Nancy Kerrigan during the U.S. Championships in Detroit. Harding also was banned for life by the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

Free public workouts and weigh-ins by Harding, Tyson and Tyson opponent Clifford Etienne are scheduled for next week at The Pyramid in Memphis. Ticket sales for the fight have reached 9,000, promoter Brian Young told the Commercial Appeal.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.