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Terri Harper

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Terri Harper
Born
Terri Leigh Harper

(1996-11-02) 2 November 1996 (age 27)
Denaby Main, England
Other namesBelter
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (174 cm)
Reach65 in (165 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights19
Wins15
Wins by KO6
Losses2
Draws2

Terri Harper (born 2 November 1996) is an English professional boxer and current WBO female lightweight champion. She is also a former WBA and IBO Super-Welterweight champion and former super-featherweight world champion, having held the IBO female title from 2019 to November 2021 and the WBC version from 2020 to November 2021. Following a brief amateur career, Harper made her professional debut in 2017. She won her first championship two years later, capturing the regional WBC International female lightweight title in 2019. Later that year she moved down a weight class to the super-featherweight division to win her first world championship, the vacant IBO title, and added the WBC title to her collection the following year after defeating long-reigning champion Eva Wahlström. With her victory over Wahlström, Harper became the second British woman after Nicola Adams to hold a major world championship.

Early life

[edit]

Born on 2 November 1996 in Denaby Main,[1][2] Harper was raised in Yorkshire with her two brothers and sister. She got into boxing at the age of 12 after watching Jack Osbourne box on the TV show Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie. After winning a silver medal as an amateur at the 2012 European Junior Championships, Harper stepped away from the sport to concentrate on her education. She returned to amateur boxing after completing her GCSEs, only to become disillusioned with the sport after losing her first two bouts. While deciding whether or not to continue with boxing, Harper received a call from a boxing promoter with an offer to turn over to the professional side of the sport. She subsequently accepted the offer, and stated that she has "never looked back since".[3]

Amateur career

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As an amateur, Harper only competed 17 times, which saw her win three national titles and a silver medal at the European Junior Championships in Poland.[3][4]

Professional career

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Early career

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Harper made her professional debut on 25 November 2017, at the Doncaster Dome in Doncaster, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory over Monika Antonik.[5]

After four more fights in 2018—PTS wins over Borislava Goranova in February and Bojana Libiszewska in April,[6][7] and stoppage wins over Bec Connolly in October and Feriche Mashauri in December[8][9]—she faced undefeated Commonwealth super-lightweight champion Nina Bradley on 8 March 2019, at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, with the vacant WBC International female lightweight title on the line. In a fight which saw Bradley down twice in the first two rounds, Harper won via technical knockout (TKO) in the tenth and final round.[10] At the time of the stoppage all three judges had Harper winning on the scorecards with 90–79, 89–80, and 89–80.[11]

Harper vs. Bell, Obenauf

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Following a stoppage win against Claudia Lopez in May,[12] Harper faced former world title challenger Nozipho Bell on 19 July for the vacant IBO female super-featherweight title at the Magna Centre in Rotherham. Harper dropped her opponent twice in the eighth round before referee Howard Foster called a halt to the contest, handing Harper her first world title via eighth-round TKO.[13][14]

It was announced in September 2019 that Harper had signed a promotional contract with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing, with her first fight under the new promotion to take place on 2 November against former two-time world title challenger Viviane Obenauf at the Manchester Arena. The fight was televised live on Sky Sports as part of the undercard of Katie Taylor's world title bout against Christina Linardatou.[15] Harper successfully retained her IBO title via unanimous decision (UD) over ten rounds, with the judges' scorecards reading 99–91, 99–92, and 97–93. In the post-fight interview, Hearn announced that terms had been agreed for Harper to challenge reigning champion Eva Wahlström for the WBC female super-featherweight title in early 2020.[16][17]

Harper vs. Wahlström

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On 20 December it was announced that Harper would challenge Wahlström on 8 February 2020, at the FlyDSA Arena (formerly Sheffield Arena), with Harper's IBO and Wahlström's WBC titles on the line.[18] The fight was aired live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US as part of the undercard for Kell Brook vs. Mark DeLuca.[19] Harper knocked Wahlström down in round seven en-route to a UD victory, adding the WBC to her IBO title to become the second British female boxer, after Nicola Adams, to capture a major world title. Two judges scored the bout 99–90 and the third judge scored it 98–91.[20]

Harper vs. Jonas

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She defended her titles against former Olympian Natasha Jonas on 7 August 2020, at the Matchroom Sport headquarters in Brentwood, Essex. After a closely contested fight which saw Jonas suffer a cut above her right eye in the early rounds before staggering Harper in the eighth, the result went to the judges' scorecards; one judge scored the bout 96–94 in favour of Harper, the second judge scored it 96–95 to Jonas, while the third judge scored it even at 95–95, resulting in a split draw to see Harper retain her titles.[21] The bout was the first time two British women contested a world title.[22]

Harper vs. Thanderz

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In the second defence of her WBC title and fourth of her IBO, Harper faced former European female super-featherweight champion Katharina Thanderz on 14 November 2020. The bout served as part of the undercard for Katie Taylor's world title defence against Miriam Gutiérrez at The SSE Arena in London. Thanderz suffered an injury to her nose after an accidental clash of heads in the ninth round before being hurt with a punch to the body, causing her to bend over in pain. Harper followed up with a sustained assault, landing combinations to the head and body, prompting referee Victor Loughlin to call a halt to the contest to award Harper a ninth-round TKO victory.[23][24]

Harper vs. Choi

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In April 2021, it was announced that Harper would face WBA female super-featherweight champion Hyun Mi Choi on 15 May, at the AO Arena (formerly known as Manchester Arena). The bout was to be televised live on Sky Sports in the UK and streamed live on DAZN in the US and more than 200 countries and territories.[25] In early May, Harper was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a hand injury during sparring.[26]

Harper vs. Ryan

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On 23 March 2024 in Sheffield, England, Harper challenged Sandy Ryan for her WBO welterweight title, but lost the fight via fourth-round RTD.[27][28]

Harper vs. Dixon

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Harper was due to challenge WBO female World lightweight champion Rhiannon Dixon at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena on 24 August 2024,[29][30] but the fight was moved to take place on 28 September 2024 at Sheffield Arena after an injury to Jack Catterall who had been scheduled to headline the original bill.[31] The venue was later changed again to the Copper Box Arena in London but the date was unaltered after the Sheffield show was cancelled.[32] On 6 September 2024 it was announced that the Fisher vs Rudenko event in London was canceled, and the bout between Harper and Dixon was moved to Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield, England as the main event on 28 September 2024.[33] Harper won the fight by unanimous decision to become a three-weight world champion and inflict the first loss of Dixon's professional career.[34][35][36]

Professional boxing record

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19 fights 15 wins 2 losses
By knockout 6 2
By decision 9 0
Draws 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
19 Win 15–2–2 Rhiannon Dixon UD 10 28 Sep 2024 Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield, England Won WBO lightweight title
18 Loss 14–2–2 Sandy Ryan RTD 4 (10), 2:00 23 Mar 2024 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England For WBO welterweight title
17 Draw 14–1–2 Cecilia Brækhus MD 10 7 Oct 2023 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England Retained WBA light-middleweight title;
For WBO light-middleweight title
16 Win 14–1–1 Ivana Habazin UD 10 27 May 2023 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Retained WBA light-middleweight title
15 Win 13–1–1 Hannah Rankin UD 10 24 Sep 2022 Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Won WBA and IBO light-middleweight titles
14 Win 12–1–1 Yamila Belen Abellaneda UD 10 12 Mar 2022 Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Won WBA Inter-Continental lightweight title
13 Loss 11–1–1 Alycia Baumgardner TKO 4 (10), 0:23 13 Nov 2021 Utilta Arena, Sheffield, England Lost WBC and IBO super-featherweight titles
12 Win 11–0–1 Katharina Thanderz TKO 9 (10), 1:12 14 Nov 2020 The SSE Arena, London, England Retained WBC and IBO super-featherweight titles
11 Draw 10–0–1 Natasha Jonas SD 10 7 Aug 2020 Matchroom Fight Camp, Brentwood, England Retained WBC and IBO super-featherweight titles
10 Win 10–0 Eva Wahlström UD 10 8 Feb 2020 FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield, England Retained IBO super-featherweight title;
Won WBC super-featherweight title
9 Win 9–0 Viviane Obenauf UD 10 2 Nov 2019 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Retained IBO super-featherweight title
8 Win 8–0 Nozipho Bell TKO 8 (10), 1:25 19 Jul 2019 Magna Centre, Rotherham, England Won vacant IBO super-featherweight title
7 Win 7–0 Claudia Andrea Lopez TKO 6 (10), 1:58 10 May 2019 Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England Retained WBC International lightweight title
6 Win 6–0 Nina Bradley TKO 10 (10), 0:13 8 Mar 2019 Barnsley Metrodome, Barnsley, England Won vacant WBC International lightweight title
5 Win 5–0 Feriche Mashauri TKO 2 (6), 1:25 8 Dec 2018 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
4 Win 4–0 Bec Connolly KO 3 (6), 1:40 5 Oct 2018 Barnsley Metrodome, Barnsley, England
3 Win 3–0 Bojana Libiszewska PTS 4 13 Apr 2018 Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England
2 Win 2–0 Borislava Gorinova PTS 4 10 Feb 2018 Dearne Valley Leisure Centre, Denaby Main, England
1 Win 1–0 Monika Antonik PTS 4 25 Nov 2017 Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England

Personal life

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Harper came out as gay to her father and step mother at the age of 14.[37][38]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Harper vs. Choi: Fight info, ringwalks, undercard and how to watch on DAZN | DAZN News UK". DAZN. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  2. ^ Terry, Dylan (4 March 2020). "Harper's home tie!". www.newschainonline.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b Lupton, James (4 July 2019). "'There was always something missing': Terri Harper interview". Boxing Monthly. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  4. ^ Waller, Chandler (29 October 2019). "Terri Harper: "You'll See Another Level To My Game!"". Boxing Social. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Boxing: Terri Harper wins on debut – and it could be the start of something special". www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Terri Harper powers on while Kinsiona earns first KO". The Star. 11 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  7. ^ "BoxRec: Terri Harper vs. Bojana Libiszewska". BoxRec. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  8. ^ Davies, Matthew (10 October 2018). "Boxer Bec Connolly savours Swindon fight date". Swindon Advertiser. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  9. ^ Horan, Matt (9 December 2018). "Brook vs Zerafa: Kid Galahad beats Brayan Mairena ahead of mandatory world title shot". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Bradley's title hopes ended in final round". www.bostonstandard.co.uk. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  11. ^ "BoxRec:Terri Harper vs. Nina Bradley". BoxRec. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  12. ^ Gilbert, Peter (10 May 2019). "JD NTXGEN: Terri Harper stops Claudia Lopez to retain WBC belt". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  13. ^ Westerdale, Bob (21 July 2019). "Boxing: Denaby Main's Terri Harper seals historic world title triumph". The Star. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  14. ^ "BoxRec: Terri Harper vs. Nozipho Bell". BoxRec. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  15. ^ Christ, Scott (24 September 2019). "Terri Harper signs with Matchroom, fights on Nov. 2". www.badlefthook.com. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  16. ^ Christ, Scott (2 November 2019). "Terri Harper set for world title bid after win over Viviane Obenauf". www.badlefthook.com. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  17. ^ Persson, Per Ake (5 November 2019). "Eva Wahlstrom vs. Terri Harper in Play For February 2020". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Kell Brook vs Mark DeLuca in Sheffield on February 8, live on Sky Sports". Sky Sports. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  19. ^ Gilbert, Peter (8 February 2020). "Brook vs DeLuca: Terri Harper targets statement win over WBC champion Eva Wahlstrom". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Terri Harper beats Eva Wahlstrom to win WBC super-featherweight title". BBC Sport. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  21. ^ Damerell, Richard (8 August 2020). "Harper vs Jonas: Terri Harper retains WBC title after split decision draw with Natasha Jonas". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  22. ^ Dielhenn, James (6 August 2020). "Harper vs Jonas: Terri Harper insists she is ignoring 'mind games' from Natasha Jonas and Joe Gallagher". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  23. ^ Damerell, Richard (15 November 2020). "Taylor vs Gutierrez: Terri Harper stops Katharina Thanderz in ninth round to retain WBC super-featherweight belt". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  24. ^ Lewis, Ron (14 November 2020). "Terri Harper Beats Up, Stops Katharina Thanderz in Ninth". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Terri Harper vs. Hyun-Mi Choi – Unification Set, May 15 in Manchester". BoxingScene.com. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Terri Harper forced to pull out of world title unification clash with Hyun Mi Choi after suffering hand injury". Sky Sports. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  27. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (24 March 2024). "Sandy Ryan eliminates Terri Harper in four rounds to retain title". FIGHTMAG.
  28. ^ Christ, Scott (23 March 2024). "Smith vs Zepeda: Live streaming results, round by round, how to watch, start time, running order". Bad Left Hook.
  29. ^ "World champion Dixon to face fellow Briton Harper". BBC Sport. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Rhiannon Dixon to face Terri Harper in all-British world title bout". Warrington Guardian. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Dixon v Harper rescheduled for 28 September". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  32. ^ "Dixon-Harper moves to London with Fisher headlining". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  33. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (6 September 2024). "Rhiannon Dixon faces Terri Harper in main event in Sheffield, Fisher vs Rudenko off". FIGHTMAG.
  34. ^ "Terri Harper dethrones Rhiannon Dixon in her first defence". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Terri Harper defeats Rhiannon Dixon to become world champion". Boxing News Online. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  36. ^ "Terri Harper Dethrones Rhiannon Dixon In Historic Title Win For UK Boxing". The Ring. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  37. ^ Holmes, Jon (27 April 2020). "Terri Harper and Jenna Hayden on love, life, and Lesbian Visibility Day". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  38. ^ Davies, Gareth A. (20 February 2020). "WBC super-featherweight champion Terri Harper talks relationships, working in a chip shop and targeting match-up with Katie Taylor". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Katharina Thanderz 		WBC International
lightweight champion
8 March 2019 – 8 February 2020
Won world title 		Vacant
Title next held by
Chelsey Anderson
Minor world boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Firuza Sharipova 		IBO super-featherweight champion
19 July 2019 – 13 November 2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by IBO light-middleweight champion
24 September 2022 – 2022
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Femke Hermans
Major world boxing titles
Preceded by WBC super-featherweight champion
8 February 2020 – 13 November 2021 		Succeeded by
Alycia Baumgardner
Preceded by
Hannah Rankin
 WBA light-middleweight champion
24 September 2022 – September 2024
Vacated 		Vacant
Preceded by WBO lightweight champion
28 September 2024 – present 		Incumbent
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