Harli Whitwell: “We are aiming for bigger fights and titles next year. I’m ready to take the big fights now.”

Harli Whitwell: “We are aiming for bigger fights and titles next year. I’m ready to take the big fights now.”

Harli Whitwell turned professional in 2022. Five fights later, she is still unbeaten. A super-featherweight prospect that has the look of a fighter who could go far. Very far. But those five fights could have been more. Niggling injuries have held her back somewhat.

2024 started well for Whitwell. Two wins that showed her off ever-developing skills. A win over the Polish import Karina Szmalenberg in April should have been followed by a title fight in June. Chelsey Arnell was the intended opponent. The Commonwealth Silver title should have been the gateway to bigger things. But the injury curse of Harli Whitwell struck again. A few weeks out, disaster struck in a routine sparring session.

“I was sparring with Shannon Ryan about four or five weeks before my fight,” Whitwell told me over Zoom. “I went to pivot and essentially move my foot around with me. But my knee took all the movement. I heard it pop on the way down, and I knew straight away it was bad. It was my MCL. It was the second round, and I fell on the floor in agony. I had torn my MCL, but it wasn’t that bad that I needed surgery, so I was grateful for that. I was on crutches for a week or so. It was a case of slowly building it back up, but I couldn’t do anything for a while. It’s not 100% right just yet, but the more I am training for my next fight, the stronger it is getting. By the time of the fight, it will be absolutely fine.”

It’s been a frustrating period of late for Whitwell. A talented fighter who just wants to fight. The rigours of a hard rehabilitation process is never fun. But she is getting there. A planned return in December will test many things. A low-key comeback fight that Whitwell hopes will be the springboard to making up for lost time in 2025.

“The last few months have been a bit of a struggle,” Whitwell says of her recent wows overcoming her knee injury. “But I am getting back into a more positive mindset now. Obviously, the next one won’t be a title fight. In an ideal world, I would have loved to have gone straight back into a much tougher fight. But setbacks happen, and hopefully, we can get this fight out of the way and aim for title fights early next year and obviously keep the ball rolling because we have missed a few months this year. So, I am getting itchy knuckles a bit now.”

Whitwell isn’t short of domestic opposition. The unbeaten former amateur star Louise Orton also returns on the same show in December. That would be a fight of real intrigue. Even more so if a British title is on the line. But former amateur opponent Jordan Barker Porter has also expressed an interest in fighting Whitwell. With the St. Ives fighter keen on revenge from a close reversal in the amateur ranks.

“Jordan did ask me to fight me at lightweight, but we already had this one scheduled in. But maybe next year for the British title if they let her fight for that. I lost to Jordan in the amateurs by a split decision. I thought I won that one as well.”

Like many fighters, Whitwell is super-critical of her own performances.

“I was watching my last fight last week for the first time. Sometimes, I can’t bring myself to watching them, but that is the only way I will improve,” Whitwell told FightPost. “After all of my fights, people say to me, “You have done amazing, but I am moping about thinking I could have done better.” I am a bit of a perfectionist because I want to ensure I am top-level. If you end up fighting at a high level, you get found out. I want to make sure I am at the top of my game when I am fighting for titles.”

Whitwell will hope her injury woes are now firmly behind her. There is a hint of caution. Whitwell knows she can’t move too fast. But a big year with big fights is planned for 2025. The desire to move from blue-chip prospect to having belts around her waist.

“The plan was to do that title fight and then see what comes from it because it would have opened me for the Commonwealth title. But now everything has changed. Right now, I don’t really have a plan, so I am going to take each fight as it comes at the minute. But obviously, we are aiming for bigger fights and titles next year. I’m ready to take the big fights now.”