After much delay, Beatriz Ferreira has finally been lined up to take her first shot at a world title – against Yanina Del Carmen Lescano on April 27 in Liverpool, U.K.
Ferreira (4-0, 2 KOs), a 2020 Olympic silver medalist for Brazil, will fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title against Argentina’s Lescano (14-3, 4 KOs) in an all-South-American affair at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre.
Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) previously held the IBF title, having won it in 2018 after a successful unification encounter with Victoria Bustos. Taylor, who also held the WBA strap at the time, became the undisputed lightweight champion with victories over then-titleholders Rose Volante (WBO) and Delfine Persoon (WBC).
In 2023, Taylor toppled Chantelle Cameron (18-1, 8 KOs) in a rematch in Dublin, Ireland, to become a two-weight undisputed champion. The fighters had previously met in April, with Cameron scoring an upset victory.
At the turn of 2024, Taylor was forced to vacate the IBF and WBO world lightweight titles after the respective sanctioning bodies issued notices. Taylor opted to drop both titles in favor of pursuing a then-proposed trilogy fight with Cameron.
Despite being forced to vacate two lightweight titles, Taylor still holds the WBC and WBA titles in the division.
Ferreira’s rating with the sanctioning body gave her the opportunity to contest the IBF belt. However, finding an opponent proved to be more difficult than expected.
The IBF called for a fight between Ferreira and Caroline Dubois (9-0, 5 KOs), but Dubois and promoter Ben Shalom ultimately decided to pass in favor of a routine fight in February.
Rhiannon Dixon (9-0, 1 KO) also skipped on the opportunity to face her in-house promotional rival, with Dixon instead deciding to contest the vacant WBA title against Karen Carabajal.
Jelena Janicijevic (5-1-1, 2 KOs) of Serbia had reportedly been in negotiations with Ferreira, but the former amateur standout saw herself removed from the IBF’s rating for undisclosed reasons after she failed to agree to terms before the negotiation period expired.
Following the IBF’s decision to mandate Lescano to contest the vacant title against her Brazilian counterpart on March 11, a deal between the pair was swiftly agreed upon. The IBF had previously given a deadline of April 5 to conclude negotiations between Ferreira and Lescano.