Rhiannon Dixon vs Terri Harper Preview September, 28th, 2024
It will be an all-English affair in Sheffield this Saturday, September 28th as former world champion Terri Harper challenges unbeaten Rhiannon Dixon for the WBO Lightweight Title. The 10-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Harper last saw action in March when she was stopped by Sandy Ryan in the fourth round in a shot at the WBO Welterweight Title. That extended her winless streak to two as she battled to a 10-round draw with Cecelia Braekhus five months earlier in a shot at the vacant WBO Super Welterweight Belt. Dixon’s last fight resulted in a 10-round unanimous decision over Karen Elizabeth Carbajal for the vacant WBO Lightweight Crown.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Dixon vs Harper Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Terri Harper +300
- Rhiannon Dixon -400
My Pick
The 27-year-old Harper of Doncaster climbs through the ropes with a 14-2-2 record with 6 Ko’s and has boxed 128 rounds since turning pro in 2017. She enjoyed a short but successful amateur career which saw her capture a trio of national titles along with a silver medal at the 2012 European Junior Championships. Harper stands just over 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 65 inch reach and has pretty good power in the female division with a current knockout ratio as 42.9 per cent of her wins have come by stoppage.
However she hasn’t stopped an opponent in her last six fights dating back to November, 2020 she also has a record of three wins, two losses and a draw in her past six outings. Harper won the vacant WBC International Lightweight title in 2019 with a 10th-round stoppage over Nina Bradley after dropping her in the first and second rounds. She added the vacant IBO Super-Featherweight Belt in 2019 by stopping Nozipho Bell in the eighth round and then beat Eva Wahlström for the WBC Super-Featherweight Belt in 2020 via a unanimous decision after dropping her in the seventh round.
Her first draw came against former Olympian Natasha Jonas in August, 2020 and first defeat came at the hands of Alycia Baumgardner when she was stopped in the fourth round in November, 2021 and lost her IBO and WBC Super-Featherweight Titles. She bounced back with a unanimous decision over Yamila Abellaneda four months later to take the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Belt and then beat Hannah Rankin to win her IBO and WBA Super-Welterweight Titles. Harper also has wins over Claudia Lopez, Viviane Obenauf and Katharina Thanderz.
The 29-year-old southpaw Dixon hails from Warrington, Cheshire and has 64 rounds of experience under her belt since making her pro debut in 2018. She began boxing at the age of 21 and makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 10-1 with 1 KO. Dixon lacks power as her current knockout ratio clocks in at just 10 per cent but she makes up for it with her skills and determination. Unfortunately there’s no height and reach information for Dixon so we don’t know how she stacks up size-wise against Harper.
Her lone stoppage win came against Vicky Wilkinson in March, 2023 when she stopped her in the third round to win the vacant Commonwealth Lightweight Title. She then added the vacant European belt in her next fight six months later with a unanimous decision over Katharina Thanderz. Just five of Dixon’s 10 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record and I believe she’s taking a step up in class against Harper this weekend.
Prediction…
There’s no doubt Harper has more power and experience and has faced tougher opposition in her career. Her weight fluctuates quite a bit though as she’s fighting as a lightweight this weekend while battling as a welterweight in her last bout and a junior middleweight in the fight before that. Harper is just 27 years old but needs to get her career back on track after going winless in her last two outings and earning victories in just three of her past six bouts. Dixon will have to rely on her boxing skills here but I think she’ll fall just short. I’m going with Harper here in a mild upset.
Harper’s power and experience should be the difference.
Play: Terri Harper +300 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Rhiannon Dixon betting • Terri Harper betting