Harli & Shona Whitwell: A Tale of Two Fighting Sisters

Harli & Shona Whitwell: A Tale of Two Fighting Sisters

Their life has been centred around boxing. Two sisters. One sport. One goal.

Shona and Harli Whitwell have taken different paths. The odds say that they will very soon be treading the same road once again.

Harli Whitwell turned professional in 2022. Five fights. Five wins. It would have been several more, but niggling injuries have limited her progress somewhat. Whitwell has fought twice this year. She has impressed on each occasion. I likened her to an early Mikaela Mayer after one of those victories. After another minor injury-related setback after her last fight in April, Whitwell will return to action in November. A serious super-featherweight prospect who could be on the verge of very big things in 2025.

Shona Whitwell stayed amateur chasing that Olympic dream. It looked within reach until the controversy that rocked her world earlier this year. The decision to welcome Amy Broadhurst into the GB Boxing set-up in Sheffield and to then select her over Whitwell and Gemma Richardson for the final qualifier for the Paris Olympics was largely criticised. Condemned even by many. Whitwell felt let down. It’s hard not to have sympathy for her situation. Five years in Sheffield ended on an extremely sour note. Everything was now for nothing. A sad end to an Olympic cycle that had once promised so much. It left a bitter taste. Both Whitwell and Richardson deserved better. A new journey will commence in the coming weeks.

Shona started boxing when she was just five at her father’s St. Ives Boxing Academy. Harli was a year older when her boxing life began. Although both had begged their father long before he finally gave ground to let his daughters fight. Boxing is very much in their blood. In many ways, it is all they have known.

In different ways, the two immensely talented fighting sisters will relaunch their careers in the coming months. For different reasons, both have been left frustrated in recent times. But Shona at 26, and Harli at 24, have time on their side. And plenty of it.

Harli will advance to title fights within the next twelve months. In truth, it will be difficult to hold her back. A fighter that every major promoter should be looking at.

Shona, if as expected, announces that her amateur days are now a thing of the past, the professional ranks will have another talented addition. With her incredibly impressive amateur resume, she will undoubtedly be moved quickly. Shona will look to make up for lost time.

You could argue that both sisters had more to give in the unpaid ranks. Harli always thought her style would be more suited to the longer duration of the professional world. After five fights, you can see that she was right. Shona will be keen to put all the controversy behind her and just move on. But her amateur run should have ended differently. We surely have unity on that.

Both will be glad to just fight again after all the frustration of the past few months. But you sense 2025 could be very different for both. It might well be a little friendly sibling rivalry. The race to see which sister wins a world title first.