Rhiannon Dixon to defend WBO World lightweight belt against former two-weight world champ Terri Harper
Rhiannon Dixon will make the first defence of her WBO Lightweight World Title in an all-British clash with former two-weight World Champion Terri Harper on the undercard of Jack Catterall’s blockbuster Super-Lightweight showdown with Regis Prograis at Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday August 24, shown live worldwide on DAZN.
Warrington’s Dixon (10-0, 1 KO) picked up the vacant WBO crown by outpointing Karen Elizabeth Carabajal over ten rounds on the undercard of Zelfa Barrett’s win over Jordan Gill at the AO Arena in Manchester last April – adding a World Title to her Commonwealth and European Titles at 135lbs.
Denaby Main’s Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs), a former World Champion at Super-Featherweight and Welterweight, will be looking to bounce back from her stoppage loss to WBO Super-Welterweight World Champion Sandy Ryan last time out at Sheffield Arena in March.
“I’m really excited about the fight at Co-op Live in Manchester on August 24,” said Dixon. “I respect what Terri has achieved in boxing and I expect the best version her. However, I continue to get better and better and I am extremely confident in my abilities to win on August 24.”
“I always enjoy a fight week and fight night in Manchester,” said Harper. “There’s always a good buzz being in the city. I’m super excited to perform in the new Co-op Live arena on such a brilliant card. Rhiannon Dixon is someone who I have a lot of respect for, she is very respectful and there’s no horrible ego with her. She’s just a genuine nice girl. I feel very fortunate to be given such a great opportunity and I feel like this fight is all or nothing for me. Becoming a three-weight World Champion would be a dream but the most important thing for me now is to get a solid win under my belt and be back on top.”