British fighters Rhiannon Dixon and Terri Harper will be fighting one another on the undercard of the Catterall-Prograis event, set to be held at the Co-Op Arena, in Manchester, Lancashire, on August 24th. The title fight, with Dixon set to defend her World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight title, was confirmed during the official presser―held yesterday on July 3rd―for the upcoming Manchester card.
Two-division champion Terri Harper (14-2-2, 6 KO’s) will be attempting to become a three-division champion once more after unsuccessfully vying for Sandy Ryan’s (7-1-1, 3 KO’s) WBO welterweight (147 lbs) title in a match where she was stopped.
Notably, Harper will also be entering into her fifth consecutive world title bout and, perhaps even more significantly, will be moving down two divisions (13 lbs) from her last fight to vie for a title at lightweight (135 lbs).
While lower divisions are no stranger to Harper, with the two-weight champion having become a champion for the first time in her career as a super featherweight (130 lbs), Harper will be making a drastic move down that might impact her performance come August 24th. While Harper has fought at 135 lbs prior to this match―with her last lightweight fight occurring in 2022―there can be complications in her cutting weight due to her familiarity with fighting at higher weight classes.
Due to the above-stated circumstances and Harper’s previous match ending in a stoppage loss, Rhiannon Dixon (10-0, 1 KO) appears to be in the prime position to net an important win during her first world title defense. Having captured the WBO title this past April, Dixon could face an easy challenge in Harper but will have to watch out for her countrywoman’s experience in world title bouts.
Despite Dixon’s current status as a world champion, her resume only saw her recently step up against the best competition available during her previous two fights, only to now face an opponent whose resume in regards to world title bouts exceeds that of any opponent Dixon has faced thus far.
However, Rhiannon Dixon, best known for her fluid southpaw stance, has at least the talent to beat Terri Harper―especially since Harper is coming off a stoppage loss. But regardless of Harper’s latest form, with her having lost and drawn in her past two fights, she still will be the best opponent Dixon has faced throughout her career, and her motivation to step into the ring for a world title bout suggests it will be anything but an easy fight for Dixon.
