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Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer
Cecilia Braekhus, the former world No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, is out of her challenge for the WBA junior middleweight title against champion Terri Harper on Saturday because of an illness.
Matchroom Boxing, the promoter of the fight, announced Braekhus’ illness early Saturday morning and said Harper will now fight next Saturday on the undercard of Leigh Wood vs. Mauricio Lara. No opponent for Harper was announced.
“I was really looking forward to this fight,” Braekhus wrote in an Instagram post. “This has never happened before in my career, but I will look forward to rescheduling the fight whenever we can make that happen.”
It was set to be Harper’s first defense of her WBA title, which she won when she beat Hannah Rankin by unanimous decision last year. Harper (13-1-1, 6 KOs) had previously been the WBC junior lightweight champion before losing to Alycia Baumgardner in 2021.
Braekhus (37-2, 9 KOs) had weighed in and gone through all fight week activities before her illness. She last fought in December, defeating Marisa Joana Portillo after a 21-month break following a loss to Jessica McCaskill in March 2021.
The undisputed-versus-undisputed title fight of Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron headlines Saturday’s homecoming card for Taylor, where she will challenge for Cameron’s undisputed junior middleweight title.