Impressive Terri Harper lands first world title shot

The Denaby Main fighter has been sanctioned to contest the IBO super featherweight title with manager Stefy Bull looking to set a date in July.

Harper impressed with another stoppage victory over former two time world champion Claudia Lopez in Nottingham last Friday.

And it was enough to earn a world title opportunity for the 22-year-old.

In a statement, Bull said; “I’m in talks with a number of opponents and an announcement on that will come over the next week or so.

“The contest will take place at the Magna Centre in Rotherham with myself as promoter in conjunction with Ryan Rhodes.”

Dates of July 19 or 20 have been identified.

With the boom in women’s boxing still in its infancy, there are few opportunities to steadily build a career for a young fighter.

With no domestic titles to focus on, Harper won the WBC International lightweight crown in her sixth fight, stopping Commonwealth champion Nina Bradley.

It immediately put the former junior amateur champion in contention for world honours.

With Ireland’s Katie Taylor dominating at lightweight and looking to become undisputed world champion this summer, Harper’s team have opted to explore other avenues as she continues to develop, leading to the decision to chase opportunities at super featherweight.

If her clash with Lopez was to be her last for a while at lightweight, it saw her deliver a strong statement of her credentials.

Harper dominated the bout and forced the stoppage which saw referee Kevin Parker step in and wave off the fight.

She landed a sharp one-two that stunned Lopez, who refused to release a clinch when the two next came together, with Parker signalling the end.

Lopez suffered a horrendous cut to the hairline following an accidental clash of heads in the second round and with each passing round it looked more likely the doctor would order an end to the contest.

But Harper stuck to the task at hand to thoroughly out-class the former holder of the IBF super featherweight crown.

It was an awkward start to the contest as Harper struggled to settle against her first southpaw opponent.

But she found some rhythm at the start of the second, sending straight right hands down the middle and following up with left hooks.