Hannah Rankin's second defence of her two world titles is now little more than four weeks away.
The Luss boxer will put her WBA and IBO world super-welterweight titles on the line against Terri Harper at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on Saturday, September 24.
The former Hermitage Academy pupil recently travelled to the United States for two weeks of training against reigning WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion Claressa Shields – who is herself preparing for an upcoming title defence in London against Savannah Marshall on September 10.
Rankin’s bout comes after the successful defence of her two titles against Alejandra Ayala in Glasgow back in May, while Harper is moving up several weight divisions after previously holding the WBC and IBO super-featherweight titles.
Harper, 25, won the WBA intercontinental lightweight title in March, also in Nottingham, and has a record of only one defeat from her 12 professional fights, stretching back to November 2017 when she made her debut in her home town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
This month’s Nottingham fight is part of a packed undercard on a bill which is topped by Nottinghamshire’s Leigh Woods, who will put his WBA featherweight belt on the line against Mexican Mauricio Lara.
“Personally, I think it’s a mistake for Terri to be stepping up to my weight class,” Rankin told STV this week.
“She’s not just stepping up one division, she’s stepping up a few and it’s a big mistake, in my opinion.”
The Rankin fight, along with all the other bouts on the September 24 bill, will be broadcast on the DAZN sports streaming platform, meaning the 32-year-old’s growing US fan base will be able to watch the contest live.
Ayala, meanwhile, who spent 10 days in a coma at the Queen Elizabeth University in Glasgow after being knocked out by Rankin in the 10th round of the fight at the SSE Hydro on May 13, has since announced her retirement from the sport – though the 33-year-old recently told WBABoxing.com that her recovery has been going better than her doctors expected.
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