09 February 2020

Terri Harper becomes first British woman to win WBC super-featherweight title in unanimous points victory over Eva Wahlstrom

Britain's Terri Harper claimed a unanimous points victory over Finland's Eva Wahlstrom to win the WBC super-featherweight title at the Sheffield Arena.

This was the 23 year-old's tenth fight since turning pro in 2017 while her opponent Wahlstrom has only previously lost one of her 26 bouts.

Harper won with scores of 98-91 and two verdicts of 99-90 and becomes Britain's second moden-day major female world champion, following Nicola Adams' WBO world flyweight title.

Jane Couch, the pioneer of women's boxing, who was the first woman to be granted a licence to box in the UK in 1998, was also world champion with now defunct organisations.

Harper made a strong start and showed no signs of nerves against her experienced opponent. She came out all guns blazing and a hefty left-right combo in the seventh round saw her opponent hit the floor.

Wahlstrom was unable to claw her way back into the fight and lost on a unanimous points. Her only previous loss was against Ireland's Katie Taylor at Madison Square Gardens in 2018.

After the fight Harper, who also won the IBO title with a unanimous points decision against Viviane Obenauf in November, said: "I'm 23 years-old and I've just done this, I've just made history. I never thought I would get to this point."

Promoter Eddie Hearn was extremely complimentary of the young fighter's mature performance saying: "Eva Wahlstrom is a big star in her country and this is a great story. Boxing changes lives. 

"We have a rough diamond here in Terri Harper."

Terri Harper lands a well-aimed jab on Eva Wahlstrom (PA Images)

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox