Terri Harper’s unification dreams are unfortunately on hold after the Doncaster fighter was forced to withdraw from her May 15th battle with Hyun-mi Choi. The show, at Manchester’s AO Arena, which is being screened in multiple regions on DAZN, will still go ahead with Joshua Buatsi likely to be moved into the main event spot against Daniel Blenda Dos Santos.
Promoter Eddie Hearn, enjoying a congested week in Dallas for the Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders event, delivered the bad news on his Twitter account, "Devastated to hear from [trainer] Stefy Bull that Terri Harper damaged her hand in her final spar. "She will undergo an operation next week and will return later this Year. Keep your head up Terri - back stronger!"
After enjoying a stellar run as world champion, Harper couldn’t hide her disappointment as she took to her own social media account to provide her feelings on the injury she’s endured.
"Absolutely devastated to announce that in my last spar of camp I have damaged my hand again. Heartbroken is not the word. Myself and my team have worked so hard in the last five months to ensure I had the best recovery and had a full training camp with no problems with my hand.
“I'm only 24-years-old with many big nights ahead. This is just a small setback and I will be back stronger than ever. Hopefully this unification can happen before the end of the year, it's still my dream to unify and be on the road to undisputed."
As well as Buatsi aiming to continue his climb up the rankings, the show in Manchester will also see Gamal Yafai defend his European Super-bantamweight belt against Jason Cunningham. Continental honours will also be on the line when Lerrone Richards takes on Giovanni De Carolis for the European Super-middleweight title.