Rhiannon Dixon: Against All Odds

Rhiannon Dixon: Against All Odds

The travelling faithful sang her name. She was a little embarrassed. The fight hotel bar had suddenly come to life. The midnight hour had already chimed. A steady stream of ever-increasing punters had made the short walk from the Manchester Arena.

A post-fight scenario always holds some trepidation for this wannabe scribe. The time Amir Khan thought I’d nicked his phone is still the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully, an incident that was quickly cleared up without a trip to the hospital. Another story for another day.

But this affair was slightly less scary, although it was still laced with more than a touch of embarrassment. Anthony Crolla passed me a pint of Guinness. I said thank you, thinking he had bought me a drink, when in truth he just wanted me to hold it while he went to the toilet. Trust me, I’ve cleaned that story up. He did say he would buy me a drink. I’m still waiting, by the way, as I am for that interview he’s promised me numerous times. I still live in the hope of both. Hope is probably all I have.

An invitation to a late-night karaoke bar was politely declined. I was called a boring so-and-so. Trust me, I’ve cleaned that story up even more. With a view of staying impartial, I could argue and justify for the invite being rejected. But nobody seriously needs to hear my tuneless version of Colourblind by Darius. Although I suspect Crolla could pull it off quite nicely. He’s halfway there with the look already.

Just a few hours earlier, Rhiannon Dixon had won a world title that just a few years earlier would have seemed unlikely. Some would even say impossible. But the progress has been startling. A steady progression that saw the pre-fight betting line showing her odds on to beat the far more experienced Karen Elizabeth Carabajal. A tough Argentinian who had only previously lost to Katie Taylor in twenty-three fights as a professional.

It was the supposed moment of truth for a fighter who only had a handful of white-collar fights and nine professional outings to her name. If normal boxing logic was applied, it would be incredibly easy to reach the conclusion that Dixon was now out of her depth.

But the odds suggested that the gap in experience had been bridged. Those nine fights had seen a rough diamond transformed and elevated to a serious world title prospect.

Dixon had steadily improved since making her debut in 2019. An appearance live on Channel Five that showed a fighter of promise, a raw talent that could possibly develop into something a little more. But expectations would have been tempered back then. Dixon though always had other ideas.

The aim was always to move into the title picture. Back in 2019, Dixon was a full-time pharmacist. Five years later, she is now a fully-fledged full-time professional fighter. And a world lightweight champion, of course. A sign that all concerned knew what was coming. Crolla has let his protege grow as a fighter since they hooked up in the depths of the pandemic. Aided by some meticulous matchmaking, Dixon has been allowed to develop at a sensible pace.

Dixon claimed Commonwealth and European honours in 2023, and that hard-earned points win over Carabajal in April saw Dixon claim the vacant WBO world lightweight bauble. All of a sudden, her fighting apprenticeship was over.

Next month, Dixon will head over to Sheffield to face her toughest test to date. Terri Harper, a two-weight world champion, will bring her army of fans from nearby Denaby to try and inflict a first reversal on the resume of the Warrington fighter.

Harper is considered by some to be at the near-critical stage of her career. The one-sided manner of her defeat to Sandy Ryan in a losing effort for the WBO welterweight title has left many thinking Harper is a fighter on the decline. But the former super-featherweight and super-welterweight champion is two years younger than Dixon, and her greater experience could pose significant problems for a fighter still learning her trade somewhat.

Dixon has called previous fights her coming out party, but you sense the fight with Harper could be that and then some. A win over Harper would send a nice little warning to her two great rivals that lightweight supremacy is very much a three-way dance. Beatriz Ferreira and Caroline Dubois almost certainly lie ahead. Rhiannon Dixon, with a win on September 28th, will cement her claims to be the heir to Katie Taylor.

Yet again, Dixon is odds on to turn back the challenge of her next opponent. A sign of the times, maybe. A reflection of where both fighters are perceived to be in their careers. But it could quite easily be decided by who is catching who at the right time. An interesting little dynamic for a fight with real intrigue.

Harper could be coming to Sheffield with everything to gain and everything to lose. A fighter perhaps in desperation mode. But nevertheless, a dangerous fighter who could create a little slice of history if she can upset the odds in an arena that hasn’t always been kind to her. For all the critics of her recent form, a win over Dixon would leave Harper a three-weight world champion. Everything will then change. Everything will then be forgotten. Make no mistake, Harper shouldn’t be overlooked or written off. It’s a fight where we will see just how good Rhiannon Dixon is. And what Terri Harper has left.

But you feel the Warrington fighter is a strong betting favourite for a reason. A win will see her career go to a different stratosphere. Maybe then, she will get a little more promotion from the money men. A fighter who does seem to be a little lost in the mix, while most of the promotional hype goes elsewhere.

If win number eleven does materialise next month, another post-fight celebration would follow. A different city. A different hotel. The chants will likely be a little louder from those who had made the short pilgrimage to Sheffield. The drinks will likely flow a little more freely this time. I’ll probably have to dig deep in my pockets while Crolla keeps his hands in his.

Another karaoke bar to finish off the night. Another invitation declined. Crolla and co in full Pop Idol mode. A long night. An early rise for a hangover breakfast. But being a boring so-and-so will then reap its rewards. But Rhiannon Dixon could be forgiven if she enjoyed herself a little too much.

A win over Harper would be a telling moment. The L plates now firmly ripped off. A fighter who has done it in an untraditional way. Odds on in recent times, but it hasn’t always been that way. Rhiannon Dixon has achieved everything against the odds in many ways. Whatever now comes her way, we shouldn’t lose sight of where it all started. Where she started. But right now, there is no way of telling where it will finish.