The long-awaited rematch between Natasha Jonas and Terri Harper looks to be closer than ever, as both fighters hold titles at 154 pounds.
Eddie Hearn spoke on the situation with Matchroom Boxing, claiming that he wants to make the second given the thrill of the first.
“You’ve got two British fighters who own the belts at 154lb. You’ve got a potential rematch to a fight of the year for the undisputed middleweight world championship, so I want to make that fight.”
“Now it’s like ‘oh, well you didn’t want to make the rematch initially’ – no because we had other plans. You know, Terri Harper wanted to unify, she had a mandatory. I then gave Natasha Jonas the Katie Taylor fight, coming off that defeat.”
The first fight was all-action which saw the judges score it a draw, allowing Terri Harper to retain her WBC and IBO super-featherweight belts. However, with both boxers now up at 154lb and both holding world titles, as well as the fact that Jonas still feels hard done by, the rematch is the fight to make for the fans.
The Matchroom promoter has stated that an offer was made to try to get the clash over the line.
“We made an offer yesterday, or the day before whatever it was, to Sky to do that fight. We can do it on DAZN, if they want to make us an offer, no problem.”
“Who wouldn’t want to see a rematch of a fight of the year for the undisputed championship? So hopefully we can get it over the line.”
As Hearn says, the issue here may not lie with the fighters, but the promoters and the broadcasters. However, fans will have to stay hopeful that terms can be agreed for another historic female fight.