| Venue: Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham Date: Saturday, 24 September |
| Coverage: Follow live text commentary and reaction from 21:00 BST on BBC Sport website & app. |
Where once a female world title match would be described as a great fight for women’s boxing, increasingly such bouts are described as a great fight – period. Hannah Rankin v Terri Harper in Nottingham on Saturday falls into that category.
“I think that’s where we’re heading with women’s boxing,” Rankin tells BBC Scotland at her training camp in London.
“It’s not going to be women’s boxing, it’s just going to be boxing. That will have been a long time coming, finally. There are some fantastic fights out there. Mine and Terri’s is going to be a cracker, Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall is also going to be a cracker.”
Rankin is the WBA and IBO super-welterweight champion, while Harper, a former world champion at lightweight, is jumping up three weights to challenge the Scot.
Rankin spent time in a training camp with Shields in Miami before the American’s highly-anticipated showdown with Marshall, which was subsequently moved from September 10 to October 15 following the death of the Queen.
“It was perfect to get some rounds in with Claressa and get some proper work in,” says Rankin.
“It’s the third time I’ve joined her in camp. She’s one of the pound-for-pound top female fighters of our generation so it’s invaluable. To have two world champions training in the gym with the same sort of vibe, both going to be defending what’s ours, it just brings that little bit of spark and extra excitement to training.”
‘It was very difficult’
In her last fight against Alejandra Ayala in May, Rankin became the first woman to top the bill at the Hydro in Glasgow and delivered a knockout victory in front of her home fans.
It should have been the perfect night, a career high, but the moment was quickly overshadowed when Ayala’s condition deteriorated after the fight. The Mexican fighter was taken to hospital where she was placed into an induced coma.
“Alejandra falling ill after the fight, it’s a situation no boxer ever wants to be in,” Rankin says.
“It was very difficult afterwards, waiting for her to recover, waiting to hear from the people at the hospital because you’re not there so you can’t see for yourself. I wanted her to be well, to recover well. I was really stressed, very worried for her.
“There was a lot of people on social media suggesting and guessing on her state of wellness. It really highlighted to me the nasty side of social media and how people can blow things out of proportion, take things down a completely different route. That was a real negative.”
Ayala underwent emergency surgery and several weeks of care in a Glasgow hospital, during which time Rankin exchanged letters with her stricken opponent.
“It was very important to be able to have that correspondence with her after the fight,” explains Rankin. “She bore me no ill will because when you sign up for a fight you know the dangers.
“I went in there, I did my job, did exactly what I was meant to do and it was unfortunate she was injured after the fight.
“She’s a warrior and I knew she was going to fight her way back through this and I’m very glad to see she’s recovered. She’s now safely back in Tijuana with her family and recovering fully. Really blessed that that’s happened.”
‘A step too far for Harper’
Several fighters have spoken of experiencing gun-shyness after being involved in a death or near-death episode in the boxing ring.
After a fight with such serious consequences for your opponent, when the opportunity arises to deliver a knockout blow at some point down the line, something inside prevents you from unleashing the necessary damage to finish the job. Chris Eubank following his tragic 1991 encounter with Michael Watson springs to mind.
Rankin says her team has helped her work through the issues around the Ayala fight, and she is fully focused on producing her best against Harper.
“I’m going in there to defend my two world titles,” says Rankin.
“She is a former world champion herself and not for no reason. I think we are going to put on a show for the fans, but I will be taking those belts back to Scotland with me.
“It’s like a home fight for Terri. It’s being billed as Scotland versus England, which has always got that little bit of extra needle. I’m going down there to defend what’s mine, defend what belongs to Scotland, so I’m really excited about it.”
Harper’s last outing was a decision win over Yamila Belen Abellaneda, though her previous fight resulted in a savage knockout defeat at the hands of the hard-hitting WBC champion Alycia Baumgardner at super-featherweight.
A huge overhand right from the American in the fourth round separated Harper from her senses and left her essentially asleep on her feet in the centre of the ring, with only the quick reactions of referee Mark Lyson saving the Englishwoman from an even more brutal ending.
Despite this and the huge weight jump, the bookies make her the favourite to beat Rankin.
“She’s a former world champion, she’s stepping up multiple weight divisions to come and attempt to be a 154lbs fighter,” Rankin says. “I don’t believe she’s a 154lbs fighter.
“I believe I’m too big and I’m too strong, but I’m not underestimating her capabilities and her skillset.
“I’m a true 154lbs fighter, that is my weight class. There is a reason I’ve won two world titles in that division.
“For me I think it’s just a step too far for Terri Harper and on 24 September she’s going to find that out. She’ll experience what it’s like to be in with a true super-welterweight and it’s not an experience she’s going to enjoy.”
