Cecilia Braekhus has a new opponent for Saturday night.
The former female undisputed world welterweight champion will now face Maricela Cornejo in a 10-round bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The Braekhus-Cornejo fight will be part of the Golden Boy Fight Night card that will stream live on the Golden Boy YouTube channel.
Golden Boy Promotions made the announcement on Tuesday. Tom Loeffler, who promotes Braekhus, confirmed the news that original opponent Ema Kozin of Slovenia, who was to defend her WBC and WBO world title belts against Braekhus, was not able to secure a travel visa, thus withdrawing from the fight.
Both Braekhus and Cornejo will collide for the WBC interim world title belt (not recognized by The Ring).
“Ema thought she could secure a working visa in Slovenia, but then ran out of time,” Loeffler told The Ring Tuesday night. “We were able to secure the fight for Cecilia on short notice versus Maricela Cornejo for the WBC interim world title. It’s a great matchup for Las Vegas between a (likely) Hall of Fame fighter in Cecilia and Maricela, who’s already challenged four times for a world title.”
Braekhus (37-2-1, 9 knockouts), who resides in Bergen, Norway, last fought on October 7, fighting to a majority decision draw against then-WBO/WBA world titleholder Terri Harper.
The 42-year-old became the undisputed champion at 147 pounds in September 2014, defeating Ivana Habazin by unanimous decision. Braekhus became the first female fighter in any weight class to simultaneously hold all four world title belts.
Braekhus would make 10 successive defenses of the undisputed welterweight championship until she lost a close majority decision to Jessica McCaskill in August 2022. In the rematch five months later, McCaskill would win a one-sided decision over Braekhus.
Between the second loss to McCaskill and the draw against Harper, Braekhus defeated Marisa Portillo by decision in December 2022.
Cornejo (19-6, 7 KOs), who lives and trains in the Los Angeles area, defeated Sara Gabriel by decision in her last bout on July 20. She has won her last three bouts since a one-sided loss to undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields on June 3 of last year.
The 37-year-old twice fought Franchon Crews-Dezurn, losing both times by decision. The first fight in September 2018 was for the vacant WBC super middleweight world title. In the rematch one year later, Dezurn successfully defended her unified WBC and WBO 168-pound belts.
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 at santio89@yahoo.com
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