WITH her world title reign over and her previously perfect record now blotted, Rhiannon Dixon is now tasked with picking herself up.
The Great Sankey boxer’s first defence of the WBO lightweight strap she won in April saw her outpointed by fellow Brit Terri Harper in Sheffield on Saturday night.
The Yorkshirewoman was in control of much of the fight and emerged as the victor by unanimous decision after the 10-round fight, with two judges scoring it 97-93 and the other making it 96-94.
Harper is now a three-weight world champion having previously won titles at super-featherweight and light-middleweight, while Dixon’s perfect professional record ends in her 11th fight.
In a cagey opening, Harper slowly started to gain control as her experience started to show.
However, there was then a moment of joy for Dixon in the sixth round as she hurt her challenger with an uppercut followed by a stiff right hand.
That opened up a window of opportunity for the Warringtonian, but she could not capitalise as Harper regained command of proceedings.
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