Former titleholder Terri Harper will face Heather Hardy on March 12, Matchroom Boxing announced Monday afternoon.

The 10-round lightweight bout will take place at Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, England and will precede the main event bout between Leigh Wood and Michael Conlan. Both fights will stream live on DAZN.

“Straight back into the fire,” Eddie Hearn, head of Matchroom Boxing, announced on Twitter. “Terri Harper’s first fight at lightweight will be against former world (featherweight) champ Heather Hardy on the big Wood-Conlan card March 12 in Nottingham, live on DAZN.”

Harper (11-1-1, 6 knockouts), who resides in Yorkshire, England, is moving up after campaigning at 130 pounds for the last couple of years. She suffered her first defeat as a pro in her last bout on November 13, losing by devastating knockout to Alicia Baumgardner in round four.

The 24-year-old made two successful defenses of the WBC belt she won from Eva Wahlstrom in February 2020. Her last defense of the world title took place in November 2021, stopping Katharina Thanderz, despite suffering a broken right hand, in round 9.

Despite the devastating loss she suffered two months ago, Harper is glad to be fighting again and is confident she can find success at 135 pounds.

“Back to work, straight back into a big fight,” said Harper on Twitter on Monday. “Thank you, Eddie Hearn (and) Matchroom Boxing for getting me back out so quickly. It’s an honour to be fighting Heather Hardy, an icon and former world champion.”

Hardy (22-2, 4 KOs), who resides in Brooklyn, New York, won the vacant WBO Female featherweight title in October 2018, defeating Shelley Vincent by unanimous decision. She would lose the world title in her next fight almost a year later by dropping a decision to Amanda Serrano, who is ranked No. 1 by The Ring at 126 in the latest Women’s rankings.

The 39-year-old Hardy suffered a close decision loss in her last fight to Jessica Camara on May 21. Camara overcame a knockdown in the opening round to rally and defeat Hardy.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing