Terri Harper celebrates her historic title win over Rhiannon Dixon. Photo credit: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing.
Terri Harper finished her home swing in the best possible way.
A historic third division title was claimed by the Denaby Main-based boxer after a ten-round unanimous decision win over Rhiannon Dixon. The results were 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 for Harper in their DAZN main event on Saturday at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield, England.
“For me, this was the best game of my career,” Harper said after the win.
Harper became the first British woman to win titles in three weight divisions. He previously held titles at 130 and 154 pounds.
The return to lightweight came after Harper (15-2-2, 6 knockouts) came up short in a bid to win the welterweight title in his last outing. A fourth-round stoppage of WBO 147-pound titleholder Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) in March left Harper with a two-fight winless streak. She was also held to a draw against Cecilia Braekhus in the defense of her WBA 154-pound title last October.
Both fights took place in Sheffield. Her previous appearance at home was a fourth round stoppage of Alycia Baumgardner to end her WBC 130-pound title reign.
Saturday’s clash against Dixon (9-1, 1 KO) made Harper more comfortable at lightweight than he was at 147 and 154. The action was hard to come by early on but it only made Harper’s selective right hands stand out more.
Terri Harper earned success with her right hand in her historic third division win over Rhiannon Dixon on September 28 in Sheffield, England. Photo credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
Dixon gave Harper a hard time when the two were close. The undefeated lightweight couldn’t get his punches down during those times and quickly found himself lower on the cards.
A big change happened at the beginning of the 6th. Harper connected with a right hand but landed when Dixon landed a right hook. The shot caused Harper’s back leg to buckle and Dixon’s corner to explode with excitement at the prospect of capitalizing. Dixon couldn’t catch lightning in a bottle, though.
Rhiannon Dixon lands a hook in the sixth round of her WBO lightweight title defense against Terri Harper on September 28 in Sheffield, England. Photo credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
Harper opened the seventh with a straight right hand down the middle. It set the tone for the balance of the battle as Dixon’s success came as a draw. He managed to close the gap to one scorecard but saw his reign end within six months.
Dixon won the vacant WBO lightweight title on April 13 defeating Karen Elizabeth Carabajal in Manchester. He became the first professional title holder under former WBA lightweight Anthony Crolla, a Manchester icon in his heyday.
However, Dixon described the performance as disappointing and vowed to do better against Harper. He didn’t come close to making that promise.
Meanwhile, Harper revived his career after being fired at the age of 27.
The victory was the first since he defeated Ivana Habazin to win the WBA 154-pound title last May 27 in Manchester. He had to wait weeks for this fight, which was postponed three different times due to the postponement of the matches that were previously attached to it. This card alone saw two previously scheduled titles fall through.
The command’s decision was made that war was higher on its bill than living at the mercy of others.
“I’m very happy that we went ahead with this program,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “These girls have been training for a long time. We decided to keep the event and make history. Now you are sitting on the edge of big battles. There are some big names out there [and around] this decision.”
Harper joins Matchroom-promoted Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) and Beatriz Ferreira (5-0, 2 KOs) in the lightweight title division.
Ireland’s Taylor is not expected to return to the 135-pound division. She holds the RING/undisputed champion at 140, which she defends against RING featherweight champion Amanda Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KOs) in their rematch on November 15 in Arlington, Texas. However, the WBC and WB allowed him to hold their belts at both weights, despite breaking their rules.
Taylor vacated the WBO and IBF 135-pound title after winning the 140-pound title over Chantelle Cameron last November.
Ferreira won the IBF title on April 27 defeating Yanina del Carmen Lescano in Liverpool. The fight was the last before a second Olympic trip, where he won Bronze in Paris to take home his Silver medal from Tokyo.
Caroline Dubois (10-0, 5 KOs ) holds the interim WBC title. Jessica Camara (14-4, 3 KOs) is the leading candidate to fight for the WBA lightweight belt when it becomes available.
Now armed with a weight belt more suited to his frame, Harper is prepared for whatever comes his way.
“It’s great to be back in this situation,” Harper exclaimed.
