23-year-old from Doncaster bids for history on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Arena
Saturday 8 February 2020 18:57, UK
Britain's future female boxing star first saw the sport on a reality show featuring Ozzy Osbourne's son Jack.
Fast-forward 13 years and Terri Harper is days away from becoming a world champion, following in the footsteps of modern torchbearers for women's boxing in Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields and Amanda Serrano.
Those women, plus the likes of Nicola Adams who became the first-ever female Olympic gold medal-winning boxer at London 2012 and Jane Couch who blazed a trail in the generation prior, have created the platform for a new era to take advantage of.
Doncaster's Harper has everything at her fingertips to lead a younger crop of female boxers - but this Saturday in Sheffield, live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm on Kell Brook's undercard, it is all about her, not the crusade that she is a part of.
Harper, in just her 10th pro fight, battles for the WBC super-featherweight championship against Eva Wahlstrom, a far more experienced opponent who has seen plenty of young pretenders who blinked under the bright lights.
Victory would make her the first British female to win a world title fight for a recognised belt (Couch's victories were for now-defunct governing bodies, and Adams was upgraded to champion status outside of the ring before drawing in her only defence).
It seems too soon for Harper, aged just 23, but there is something about her.
Her team, led by trainer Stefy Bull, insist she is a diamond ready to be polished. They had no hesitation throwing her to the wolves - they have done it before, and Harper came out on top.
She beat Viviane Obenauf last time out, who had previously gone the distance with Taylor and stopped Natasha Jonas. Before that, Nina Bradley was a former Commonwealth champion and unbeaten in seven fights until Harper stopped her. Before that, she battered former world champion Claudia Andrea Lopez.
She has said about Taylor: "I can't imagine punching my idol in the face but, maybe one day, it could happen."
Harper added at the public workouts: "I wouldn't be surprised if someone said 'you're fighting Katie Taylor' because of how crazy my life has been in the past two years since I turned pro. It would be an honour to share a ring with Katie.
"It's the right time for me to come through and prove myself.
"There are a few nerves because this is a big occasion."
Harper has an endearing innocence about her which switches to brutality inside the ring. But her path to Saturday's world title fight was not like her peers'.
Unlike Taylor or Shields, for example, she did not have an esteemed amateur career that culminated with Olympic gold to positioned her perfectly for professional success.
Harper first entered a gym as a sport-mad 11-year-old, after seeing Ozzy Osbourne's son's efforts on TV. She was a natural, winning a silver medal at the European championships aged 16 (it should have been gold, she claims).
A two-year break from boxing, as she studied for her A-Levels, eventually re-lit her fire.
Harper's rise has been devastatingly fast so there is real danger that Saturday's rival Wahlstrom, 16 years older with 17 more fights and 150 more rounds, might be too savvy.
Wahlstrom's only defeat in 26 was against Taylor.
She said of Harper: "She is really good, even though she is quite young. A smart boxer, technical, well-trained."
Harper must be at her very best, and probably better than she's ever been before, but there is a star quality about the Yorkshire lass. Bring a belt back, and she can become a British sporting darling for the next generation.
On Saturday's bill in Sheffield, live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm, Kid Galahad fights Claudio Marrero in a final eliminator for the IBF featherweight title, Terri Harper challenges for the WBC super-featherweight title against Eva Wahlstrom, heavyweight Dave Allen returns and Kell Brook fights Mark DeLuca.
