Terri Harper (born 2 November 1996) is a British

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

and current

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

female lightweight champion. She is also a former WBA and IBO

Super-Welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF o ...

champion and former

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...

world champion, having held the IBO female title from 2019 to November 2021 and the WBC version from 2020 to November 2021. Following a brief amateur career, Harper made her professional debut in 2017. She won her first championship two years later, capturing the regional WBC International female

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

title in 2019. Later that year she moved down a

weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports including Rowing (sport), rowing, Weightlifting#Weightlifting sports, weight lifting, and especi ...

to the super-featherweight division to win her first world championship, the vacant IBO title, and added the WBC title to her collection the following year after defeating long-reigning champion

Eva Wahlström Eva Ulrika Birgitta Räsänen ( Wahlström; born 30 October 1980) is a Finnish former professional boxer who competed from 2010 to 2020. She held the WBC female super-featherweight title from 2015 to 2020 and at regional level the European fema ...

. With her victory over Wahlström, Harper became the second British woman after

Nicola Adams Nicola Virginia Adams OBE (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) female flyweight title in 2019. As an ...

to hold a major world championship.

Early life

Born on 2 November 1996 in

Denaby Main Denaby Main is a village between Mexborough and Conisbrough in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Doncaster MBC ward of Conisbrough and Denaby. It was built by the Denaby Main Collie ...

, Harper was raised in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

with her two brothers and sister. She got into boxing at the age of 12 after watching

Jack Osbourne Jack Joseph Osbourne (born 8 November 1985) is a British-American media personality. He is the son of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne. He starred on MTV's reality series '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2005), along with his ...

box on the TV show '' Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie''. After winning a silver medal as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

at the 2012 European Junior Championships, Harper stepped away from the sport to concentrate on her education. She returned to amateur boxing after completing her

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

s, only to become disillusioned with the sport after losing her first two bouts. While deciding whether or not to continue with boxing, Harper received a call from a

boxing promoter A promoter works with event production and entertainment industries to promote their productions, including in music and sports. Promoters are individuals or organizations engaged in the business of marketing and promoting live, or pay-per-view ...

with an offer to turn over to the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

side of the sport. She subsequently accepted the offer, and stated that she has "never looked back since".

Amateur career

As an amateur, Harper only competed 17 times, which saw her win three national titles and a silver medal at the European Junior Championships in Poland.

Professional career

Early career

Harper made her professional debut on 25 November 2017, at the

Doncaster Dome The Dome Leisure Centre is an arena and leisure centre in Doncaster, England, commonly referred to as ''The Dome'' or ''Doncaster Dome''. It has a swimming complex, bars, a sports arena that is also used as an event venue and the United Kingdom ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, scoring a four-round

points decision A points decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking. Unlike normal decisions where there are three judges who agree on which ...

(PTS) victory over Monika Antonik. After four more fights in 2018—PTS wins over Borislava Goranova in February and Bojana Libiszewska in April, and stoppage wins over Bec Connolly in October and Feriche Mashauri in December—she faced undefeated

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

super-lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

champion Nina Bradley on 8 March 2019, at the

Barnsley Metrodome The Barnsley Metrodome (Metrodome Leisure Complex) is a sports and leisure facility that was opened in 1989 by Neil Kinnock. The facility is 5 minutes from the Barnsley Interchange and close to Junction 37 off the M1. It is located along Queen ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, with the vacant WBC International female

title on the line. In a fight which saw Bradley down twice in the first two rounds, Harper won via

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO) in the tenth and final round. At the time of the stoppage all three judges had Harper winning on the scorecards with 90–79, 89–80, and 89–80.

Harper vs. Bell, Obenauf

Following a stoppage win against Claudia Lopez in May, Harper faced former world title challenger Nozipho Bell on 19 July for the vacant IBO female super-featherweight title at the Magna Centre in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

. Harper dropped her opponent twice in the eighth round before referee Howard Foster called a halt to the contest, handing Harper her first world title via eighth-round TKO. It was announced in September 2019 that Harper had signed a promotional contract with

Eddie Hearn Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter and the chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn has promoted many world champion boxers through Matchroom, including Anthony Joshua, Canelo Álvar ...

Matchroom Boxing Matchroom Sport is a UK-based sporting event promotions company founded by Barry Hearn and run by him and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, golf, fishin ...

, with her first fight under the new promotion to take place on 2 November against former two-time world title challenger Viviane Obenauf at the

Manchester Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...

. The fight was televised live on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

as part of the undercard of

Katie Taylor Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She was the undisputed and undefeated lineal world lightweight champion from 2019 to 2024, and has held the undisputed and lineal world super lightweight ...

's world title bout against Christina Linardatou. Harper successfully retained her IBO title via

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

(UD) over ten rounds, with the judges' scorecards reading 99–91, 99–92, and 97–93. In the post-fight interview, Hearn announced that terms had been agreed for Harper to challenge reigning champion

for the WBC female super-featherweight title in early 2020.

Harper vs. Wahlström

On 20 December it was announced that Harper would challenge Wahlström on 8 February 2020, at the FlyDSA Arena (formerly Sheffield Arena), with Harper's IBO and Wahlström's WBC titles on the line. The fight was aired live on Sky Sports in the UK and

DAZN DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...

in the US as part of the undercard for

Kell Brook Ezekiel "Kell" Brook (born 3 May 1986) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2022. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, and challenged once for a unified middleweigh ...

vs. Mark DeLuca. Harper knocked Wahlström down in round seven en-route to a UD victory, adding the WBC to her IBO title to become the second British female boxer, after

, to capture a major world title. Two judges scored the bout 99–90 and the third judge scored it 98–91.

Harper vs. Jonas

She defended her titles against former Olympian

Natasha Jonas Natasha Jonas (born 18 June 1984) is a British professional boxer is a two weight world champion who held the unified WBC, and WBO female light-middleweight titles between 2022 and 2025. As an amateur, she won a bronze medal in the light-welte ...

on 7 August 2020, at the Matchroom Sport headquarters in

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in Essex, England, in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt 20 miles (30 km) north-east of Charing Cross and close to the M25 motorway. The population of the built-up area was 55,340 in 2021. Brentwood is a t ...

. After a closely contested fight which saw Jonas suffer a cut above her right eye in the early rounds before staggering Harper in the eighth, the result went to the judges' scorecards; one judge scored the bout 96–94 in favour of Harper, the second judge scored it 96–95 to Jonas, while the third judge scored it even at 95–95, resulting in a

split draw A split draw is an outcome in several full-contact combat sports, including boxing, mixed martial arts, and other sports involving striking. In a split draw, one of the three judges scores the contest in favor of one fighter, another judge scores i ...

to see Harper retain her titles. The bout was the first time two British women contested a world title.

Harper vs. Thanderz

In the second defence of her WBC title and fourth of her IBO, Harper faced former European female super-featherweight champion Katharina Thanderz on 14 November 2020. The bout served as part of the undercard for Katie Taylor's world title defence against Miriam Gutiérrez at The SSE Arena in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Thanderz suffered an injury to her nose after an accidental clash of heads in the ninth round before being hurt with a punch to the body, causing her to bend over in pain. Harper followed up with a sustained assault, landing combinations to the head and body, prompting referee Victor Loughlin to call a halt to the contest to award Harper a ninth-round TKO victory.

Harper vs. Choi

In April 2021, it was announced that Harper would face WBA female super-featherweight champion Hyun Mi Choi on 15 May, at the AO Arena (formerly known as Manchester Arena). The bout was to be televised live on Sky Sports in the UK and streamed live on DAZN in the US and more than 200 countries and territories. In early May, Harper was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a hand injury during

sparring Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. It can encompass a range of activities and techniques such as punching, kicking, grappling, throwing, wrestling or submission work dependent on style. Although the precise form varies, ...

Harper vs. Ryan

On 23 March 2024 in Sheffield, England, Harper challenged Sandy Ryan for her WBO welterweight title, but lost the fight via fourth-round RTD.

WBO lightweight champion

Harper vs. Dixon

Harper was due to challenge

female World lightweight champion Rhiannon Dixon at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena on 24 August 2024, but the fight was moved to take place on 28 September 2024 at

Sheffield Arena Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall Centre, Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centr ...

after an injury to

Jack Catterall Jack Catterall (born 1 July 1993) is an English professional boxer. He challenged for the undisputed light-welterweight title in 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple light-welterweight championships, including the British title from 2 ...

who had been scheduled to headline the original bill. The venue was later changed again to the

Copper Box Arena The Copper Box Arena is a multi-sport venue built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, England. Previously known as the Handball Arena, it was renamed because, aside from Handball at the 2012 Summ ...

in London but the date was unaltered after the Sheffield show was cancelled. On 6 September 2024 it was announced that the Fisher vs Rudenko event in London was canceled, and the bout between Harper and Dixon was moved to Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield, England as the main event on 28 September 2024. Harper won the fight by unanimous decision to become a three-weight world champion and inflict the first loss of Dixon's professional career.

Harper vs. Zimmermann

Harper made the first defense of her WBO lightweight title against Natalie Zimmermann at the

Eco-Power Stadium The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately Pound sterling, £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports ...

in Doncaster, England on 23 May 2025. She won by unanimous decision.

Professional boxing record

Personal life

Harper came out as gay to her father and step mother at the age of 14.

References

External links

*
Terri Harper – Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
at Women Boxing Archive Network , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Terri 1996 births Living people English women boxers Boxers from Doncaster LGBTQ boxers British lesbian sportswomen Welterweight boxers World Boxing Council champions International Boxing Organization champions World Boxing Organization champions World Boxing Association champions World super-featherweight boxing champions World lightweight boxing champions World light-middleweight boxing champions 21st-century English sportswomen