Rhiannon Dixon has become a force in women's boxing in just 10 fights. She is the WBO lightweight title champion and will look to hold onto that belt against Terri Harper, her most formidable opponent to date, on September 28. The fight is being broadcast live on DAZN worldwide.
The Warrington, Cheshire-born fighter started boxing at 21, following a medical career, and has slowly climbed up the fight ladder. She won Commonwealth and European gold before taking care of multi-time contender Karen Elizabeth Carabajal for world gold in April.
Without an amateur background, Dixon has found her calling.
"From where I started 7-8 years ago, I never thought I would be where I am now. It just hasn't hit me yet," Dixon told The Sporting News.
"When people say to me, 'Has your life changed since becoming the lightweight world champion?' I'm like, 'I'm the lightweight world champion?' It's still a bit of a shock to me."
WATCH: Rhiannon Dixon vs. Terri Harper, live on DAZN
Dixon competes against a former world champion in Harper this weekend. "Belter" won the WBC super featherweight title in 2020, losing the belt after getting frozen on her feet by Alycia Baumgardner. She moved in weight and won the WBA super welterweight title against Hannah Rankin. She has since gone 1-1-1 in her last three contests.
Harper fought Cecilia Braekhus to a draw, relinquished super welterweight gold, and failed to capture welterweight gold against Sandy Ryan in March. Not only has she faced a 'Who's, Who' of fighters during her run, but Harper has also gone from 130 to 154lbs. She last competed at lightweight in 2022.
The two have been booked to compete many times over the last few months. However, as co-features, the main event fights on shows they were on all got nixed. Now, they headline their own show in Sheffield, U.K. and look to take advantage of a busy weekend for women's boxing.
Dixon is excited about this new challenge and believes the drastic weight change won't affect Harper.
"I think she started up as lightweight and went to super featherweight for other opportunities. With women's boxing, opportunities come in different ways. I feel like girls can get through different weights and take whatever opportunity becomes available," Dixon said. "Lightweight, super lightweight, suits her better. We'll probably see the best Terri Harper we've seen in a while.
MORE: Terri Harper chasing history in bid to become three-weight world champ
"She's probably the best person that I've fought. This will be my hardest test to date," she added.
"I sat down with Anthony (coach Anthony Crolla) and my other coach, Dominic. We watched a lot of footage of her. There are a lot of things she does well. There are also a lot of things she doesn't do well. That's the stuff we're going to exploit."
Trained by former WBA lightweight champion Anthony Crolla, Dixon has learned a lot from the Manchester-born fighter. Crolla has competed against some of the best fighters in the division, including Darleys Perez, Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko. Crolla retired in 2019 and has helped teach the next generation since then.
"Million Dollar" Crolla looks out for Dixon's best interests. That and his training style are why the duo work well together.
"I always lie and say he's got a massive ego and takes credit for everything to make a big joke out of it. But I am really blessed with such invaluable people with so much experience that I could never even think about getting," Dixon said. "He's been to all these massive events, where he's headlining against Lomachenko in America.
"The amount of knowledge that he's passed on is invaluable, and I'm just really grateful I can work with people like him. The other people I'm working with, I'm just really fortunate."
MORE: The case for two vs. three-minute rounds in women's boxing
Dixon has only won one fight via knockout, while Harper has knocked out six opponents. The latter's last win via the power punch was in 2020. With two-minute rounds, the pacing of women's boxing can be somewhat frantic. However, Dixon doesn't mind and believes she thrives under that format.
Learning to adapt to any style Harper may bring, Dixon is ready for a true scrap.
"We both come from two different ways: I came from white collar, stages of lightweight and worked my way up," said Dixon. "She came from the amateur side, bounced around different weights, and is now here. I think it could make for an amazing fight.
"I'm just preparing for anything, really. I believe in no stone unturned. If it's going to be a boxing match, we can go points. If it's going to be a dogfight, I don't mind trying to go for the stoppage.
"I think we've been given a golden opportunity to headline an event. We've got to put on an amazing performance to show people that female's boxing is still something that everyone wants to watch and wants to get behind.”
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