Former Commonwealth champion, now BBC Radio Manchester presenter & boxing pundit, Stacey Copeland, writes for BBC Sport to discuss Sandy Ryan’s world title defence against Terri Harper on Saturday.

Ryan puts her WBO welterweight title on the line against Harper, who holds a world title at light-middleweight and is aiming to become a three-division champion.

Will Harper cement her status as one of the top female British fighters in recent years? Or will Derby’s Ryan continue her journey towards an undisputed title and multi-weight honours?

I’ve still got a message from Terri Harper on Facebook from 2017, the year I made my professional debut.

She was asking me how to go about becoming a professional boxer. She quizzed me on all sorts, like what gear she needs to buy and wear.

I knew of her but I didn’t really know her personally. I was the sixth female to get a pro licence in the UK, so there weren’t many women boxers to lean on back then.

Fast forward seven years to look at where she is now – on the cusp of becoming a three-weight world champion. It is just incredible.

Harper has fought and gone toe-to-toe with the best of the best. She’s had big wins and feelings of euphoria that fighters crave, most notably when she became world champion at super-featherweight in front of her home fans.

But there have also been big injuries and setbacks to deal with, including that devastating stoppage loss to Alicia Baumgardner in 2021.

The highs have been high and the lows have been low, but all that experience builds strength of character and resilience within somebody.

Harper is now that person who so many other fighters can turn to as they’re coming through – a role model and boxer they can aspire to be like.