Move aside, Katie Taylor. There is a new name on the U.K. women’s boxing scene.
Yorkshire’s Terri Harper (10-0, 5 KOs) outpointed Finnish veteran Eva Wahlstrom (23-2-2, 3 KOs) over 10 rounds to become a new women’s junior lightweight titleholder on the Kell Brook-Mark DeLuca card Saturday at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England.
The judges scored it 98-91, 99-90, and 99-90, all for the 23-year-old Harper.
After a closely contested first half, Harper shifted the momentum in her favor when she dropped Wahlstrom midway through Round 7. Though it was a flash knockdown more than anything, it seemed to allow Harper to open up her offense. Toward the end of Round 8, Harper hurt Wahlstrom with a flurry.
Also, Kid Galahad inched closer to a chance to avenge his loss to titleholder Josh Warrington last summer. The featherweight contender dominated Claudio Marrero, stopping the Dominican after eight rounds in a scheduled 12-rounder.
It was for the most part a typical Galahad fight: tedious and a bit ugly. In Round 4, Galahad was warned by referee Howard Foster for repeatedly using his forearms to push away the southpaw Marrero. Galahad fought at his desired pace, picking away at the one-dimensional Marrero with single punches as he maneuvered around the ring, switching stances.
Galahad (27-1, 16 KOs) eventually turned it up in Round 7, connecting cleanly on hard combinations that had Marrero reeling. Concerned, Referee Foster checked in on Marrero (24-4, 17 KOs) during the break. Galahad continued the onslaught in the next round. After the end of Round 8, Marrero’s corner decided to throw in the towel.
With the win, Galahad once again becomes the mandatory challenger for the Leeds-based Warrington.