Terri Harper continued the invasion of the former junior lightweights who rule the 154-pound division.
Harper, 25, put on a brilliant performance and became a two-division champion following a ten-round unanimous decision victory over Hannah Rankin. Scores of 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93 landed in favor of Harper, who claims the WBA/IBO junior middleweight titles in Saturday’s DAZN co-feature from Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.
Harper struggled throughout the buildup to be the biggest fighter, literally and figuratively, despite moving up three weight divisions. That move came only after she began competing at lightweight after her WBC/IBO junior lightweight title reign came to an end in a knockout loss to Alycia Baugardner last November in Sheffield.
The pre-fight weigh-in saw Harper reveal a muscular frame, weighing in at a career-high 152lbs, though still 1.4lbs lighter than Rankin, who was looking to make the second defense of his WBA title reign. IBO. The 25-year-old from Denaby Main imposed her will on her early, working her jab and punches in combination. The effects were immediate, as Rankin was left with swelling around his left eye.
Rankin looked to take the lead in the second round, pumping his jab and trying to hit Harper on the inside. The tactic was moderately successful, although a right hand from Harper opened a cut over Rankin’s already swollen left eye. Blood trickled along Harper’s shoulder blade and down his back as the two fought for a hold on the inside.
Harper mixed her attack in rounds three and four, boxing cleverly during moments when Rankin lurked and landing with conviction when she was able to lure the defending champion into desired striking range. Rankin let go of her hands each time the two of them were near her, though not before Harper landed a blow to her face.
Rankin fought off a torrent of blood in the fifth round, held his ground and forced Harper to box from the outside. Harper was good from distance, dropping the Scotsman with a left hook and right from long range. Rankin enjoyed success with a similar combination once involving Harper.
A much-needed change of momentum came for Rankin in the seventh round. Harper still had success with her right hand, but she was caught going in when Rankin connected with her own right hand. The sequence left Harper with redness under his left eye and moments of retreat as Rankin aimed to attack.
Harper returned to boxing in the eighth round, offering constant movement as Rankin went on the hunt. The slow action paved the way for a frenetic paced ninth round, which began with Harper firing a right hand down the middle. Rankin was undeterred, cutting off the ring hoping to land a game-changing blow. Harper never bit, circling the defending champion and defending well against Rankin’s straight right hand.
Harper closed out the show in style, asserting her dominance in the tenth and final round. Rankin felt a knockout blow was needed, but it was Harper who landed the most telling punches. The final 30 seconds saw Harper switch to southpaw, hitting Rankin with a left hand up close to put an exclamation point on a brilliant performance.
“This year was supposed to be a learning experience year,” Harper said after improving to 13-1-1 (6KO). “This opportunity presented itself and we had to take advantage of it.”
Rankin’s brief reign comes to an end when he drops to 12-6 (3KO).
Harper joins former 130-pound rival Natasha Jonas in the 154-pound title run. Jonas moved up in weight earlier this year, reclaiming the vacant WBO belt in a second-round knockout of Chris Namus and then winning the WBC belt in a ten-round decision over Patricia Berghult earlier this month.
Harper’s victory could set up a potential rematch with Jonas, whom he fought to a ten-round draw to defend his WBC/IBO junior lightweight titles in their sensational August 2020 battle in Brentwood, Essex.
Headlining the show, Maxi Hughes (25-5-2, 5KOs) defends his IBO lightweight title against former IBF featherweight champion Kid Galahad (28-2, 17KOs), who is moving up in weight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
