Rhiannon Dixon doesn’t take her belt for granted ahead of defense vs Terri Harper

When she first grabbed her WBO lightweight belt, Rhiannon Dixon didn’t think much of it.

“I didn’t celebrate that much when I won the title because I thought I was rubbish! I actually got out of the ring and was like, ‘that was so embarrassing’,” said Dixon (10-0, 1 knockout), who will be attempting to defend her belt against Terri Harper this coming Saturday at Sheffield’s Canon Medical Arena.

After a while, the 29-year-old titlist did realize the importance of her achievement, even though she still feels she needs to earn it again in every outing.

“I feel like I’ve got a point to prove now. I feel like I didn’t even show half of what I can do.”

Dixon, currently rated at No. 3 by The Ring at lightweight, will have to show the other half of her hidden talents and then some against the dangerous Harper, a former titlist in her own right who will be Dixon’s biggest challenge to date by far.

“This is definitely my toughest fight – I’m under no illusions about that – but it’s a fight I’ve been ready for for a long time, and one I’m really excited for. When I win at the weekend, it shoots me into these massive fights which is something I’m really excited for.”

Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs) feels that she’s the one who should be the favorite in this fight, but Dixon begs to differ.

“With peace and love, I believe she says things that she doesn’t genuinely believe. That’s why when she said she was going to stop me, I laughed because I thought, ‘that’s not going to happen, is it?’

One of the reasons why Harper may have thought Dixon didn’t belong up there was probably Dixon’s lack of experience. After all, this will be the southpaw champ’s first defense of a belt she lifted against Karen Carabajal in a vacant title bout, which was Dixon’s 10th career bout. But she claims she herself has already left those insecurities behind as well.

“It’s boosted my confidence massively,” said Dixon about her belts. “When I was first on DAZN cards, I had a bit of imposter syndrome as I’d only had seven white-collar fights. Going from Commonwealth to European Champion to World Champion has boosted my confidence. I belong at this stage.

“I’m excited to show everything that I’ve learnt since then. I still can’t believe it when I’m referred to as a World Champion. I genuinely can’t believe it. I feel like it’s just the beginning now. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

A press release by Mathroom was used in this article.