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Boxing

Terri Harper was subjected to social media abuse after Natasha Jonas fight

Liam Happe
Terri Harper was subjected to social media abuse after Natasha Jonas fightDAZN
Ahead of her WBC super-featherweight title defence against Katharina Thanderz on Saturday, Terri Harper discussed some of the messages she has received since August.

Terri Harper's hard-fought draw with London 2012 Olympian Natasha Jonas at Matchroom Fight Camp in August led to senseless attacks from some on Twitter, the WBC super-featherweight champion said during the final press conference before her title fight against Katharina Thanderz.

The 10-round war with Jonas, which headlined the second of four behind-closed-doors shows this summer at Matchroom's Mascalls HQ, saw Harper retain the championship and remain undefeated, though some believe Jonas did enough to win.

Harper is confident there will be a rematch with her compatriot if she can retain against Spanish-Norwegian challenger Thanderz on Saturday, and she opened up on some of the abuse she received online while inside the fight "bubble" on Thursday.

"I definitely feel like I’ve got a lot to prove after my last performance," she told promoter Eddie Hearn. "People were saying on social media I can’t even box."

Press conference hosts Chris Lloyd and former world middleweight champion Darren Barker expressed their disgust at this turn of events.

"I had it as a draw," said Lloyd. "If you put a gun to my head I’d maybe lean towards Jonas by a round.

"But to hear that people have been saying that to Harper on social media shows how uneducated some of those people are."

Barker concurred, adding:  "I don’t think she should be too hard on herself. She fought a great fight and she should be proud of herself."

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Harper went on to admit that she has been working hard to improve her focus on the job at hand since August, as she continues her search for her first win as WBC champ.

"I am very excited for this fight," she explained. "The fight I had with Tasha I learned a lot from. I know Thanderz will throw the kitchen sink at me to try and take the title from me, but I’m going to stay champion.

"From what we’ve been studying over camp, Thanderz is very good going forward, a very game opponent. It’s something we have to be careful of.

"A mistake we’ve made in the past is looking beyond the fight coming up, looking for future plans. This time we’re fully focused on Thanderz and getting the job done on Saturday night."

Thanderz, meanwhile, is looking to make her own dreams come true with world title glory on fight night, in what will be chief support to Katie Taylor's defense of the undisputed lightweight championship vs. mandatory challenger Miriam Gutierrez.

"It’s great to be here," she said. "It’s a great opportunity and I’ve waited long for this. I’m really excited for Saturday.

"It’s a really amazing thing to see female boxing grow the way it is, and it’s great to see the female fighters we have now. In Norway, we have Cecilia Braekhus who has been a great champion. It’s great to see these main events on shows.

"It would mean everything to become champion. It’s what I’ve been working towards for years. I enjoy training, it’s not like hard work for me. It would mean a lot to win.

The historic triple-header of women's world title fights airs live and free for all viewers in the U.K. on Sky Sports, and on DAZN in all nine DAZN markets including the U.S.