In a past life Terri Harper used to work in a chip shop. Sensing that women’s boxing was about to explode in popularity, she turned professional, moved quickly and won a world title in her 10th fight.
Before she became a world champion, Rhiannon Dixon was a pharmacist. A white collar fighter, she saw the opportunities being created by fighters like Harper and turned professional. She also won a world title in her 10th fight.
Both are friendly characters and although shocked would be the wrong word, both seemed somewhat taken aback by the speed at which they reached the top of the sport.
Harper, 14-2-2 (6 KOs), has been in the exact position Dixon, 10-0 (1 KO), finds herself in.
Although she seems to have been around forever, Harper will be the younger woman when she challenges Dixon for the WBO lightweight title this weekend. The 27-year-old recognizes plenty of herself in Dixon and experience has taught her to make her opponent question herself when the first bell rings in Sheffield.
“Yeah, I’ve said it before, I like Rhiannon as a fighter. There’s no ego with her, she’s just here to box and do the sport, really. There’s no beef between us or anything like that,” Harper told BoxingScene.
“She’s come from white collar, I’ve come from an amateur background – not really on GB or anything like that – and here we are, us paths have crossed and I think it’s a great fight for both of us.
“I’ve spoken with Rhiannon a few times and I think she’s a great girl, she’s a great laugh. She’s got a good banter and stuff and she’s just very light-hearted and she’s just a nice girl. I think there’s a lot of fighters that go through this point in their career and think, ‘Do I belong at this level, on this stage and stuff?’ I’d be lying if I’d say I’ve not ever had that thought myself but it’s something we all go through and these are the fights that cement it for you and make you realize that, yeah, you do belong.”
Harper made her name at junior lightweight but a loss to Alycia Baumgardner led her to seek out opportunities further up the weight scale.
Lots of fighters have taken advantage of the lack of depth in female boxing to jump up through the weight divisions and reinvigorate their careers but rather than navigating her way to a straightforward title belt, Harper sought out the toughest challenges available.
She jumped straight up to junior middleweight where she drew with Cecilia Braekhus and then came down to welterweight where she was stopped in four rounds by Sandy Ryan.
The defeat to Ryan was comprehensive and persuaded Harper to return to a more natural weight. She rebounded well mentally after Baumgardner tore her WBC title away but the circumstances surrounding the losses mean that there is far more riding on a successful comeback this time around.
“I feel like with the Alycia fight, I was at a point in my career where you can come back and you can rebuild,” Harper said.
“Whereas now, obviously, the loss to Sandy, it’s kind of… I feel like my back’s really on the ropes this time and there’s no room for error. If this fight doesn’t go the way I want it to go, where do I go from there? Do I go back to small hall and rebuild or do I not even want to do that? Or is this when I call it a day and look at my next chapter in life? But I’ve pushed all that to one side and I’m not thinking about that. I’m fully focused on the fight and the job I’ve got to do that night and get a good win.
“It puts me right back up there and opens many more doors for me.”
Although she is treating it as a make or break fight, Harper does have some comforts to fall back on.
The 135lbs weight limit is an obvious benefit and after injury ruled both Dalton Smith and Johnny Fisher out of headline slots, the fight with Dixon will now top the bill at Sheffield’s Park Community Arena which is just 15 miles from Harper’s Denaby home.
Not many fighters jump for joy at the thought of boxing a southpaw but Harper is more than happy to face the left handed Dixon.
“I enjoy it,” she said. “It’s a bit weird because I know there’s a lot of fighters out there that hate a southpaw but there’s something about it that I really enjoy. I think it’s because it really engages me and gets me thinking.
“There’s little shots that they can throw and there’s little shots that I can throw as an orthodox. I find it exciting and I’ve always enjoyed fighting a southpaw.
“Coming back down to these weights and stuff, it’s another advantage I have because I am a tall fighter and I’m big for the weight. I need to get myself a smaller wardrobe because my clothes are a little bit too big for me at the minute.”
Although she has been a mainstay of female boxing during its rise to prominence, other high profile fighters have often been given more attention than the quietly spoken Harper.
Returning from a stoppage defeat to take a world title from an undefeated and improving fighter like Dixon would be an achievement which, surely, would see her finally given the respect she deserves but future accolades haven’t crossed her mind. All that matters is Saturday night.
“It’s purely about winning the fight,” she said.
“Just a good win and a dominant performance, just to really put me back out there because I feel like I’ve gone under the radar now for long enough and I feel like I need to come back and show everyone who I am and what I was.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79