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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.
Terri Harper | |
|---|---|
| Born | Terri Leigh Harper 2 November 1996 Denaby Main, England |
| Other names | Belter |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | |
| Height | 5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (174 cm) |
| Reach | 65 in (165 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 19 |
| Wins | 15 |
| Wins by KO | 6 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 2 |
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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]
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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]
Early career
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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]
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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 |
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Harper came out as gay to her father and step mother at the age of 14.[37][38]
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