Cecilia Braekhus has pretty much seen everything in her 13-year pro career. The undisputed world welterweight champion will be relying on that experience when she faces the dangerous Jessica McCaskill on the streets of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday (August 15).
A victory will see the Norwegian star break Joe Louis’ 72-year record of world title defences and cement her claims as the finest female fighter in the sport.
WBC/WBO 140lbs champion McCaskill (8-2 3 KOs) is stepping up in weight and convinced she can derail those plans, but both women have had to adjust their preparation after the fight was moved from its original date in April due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and I know the drill; it’s not the first time a fight has been cancelled for me,” said Braekhus (36-0 9 KOs) . “Of course, these are some extraordinary circumstances, but as soon as the fight was off, we wound down a little bit and had some time off before slowly starting back up again. I think we’ve done the right thing, we haven’t over-trained, but we’ve stayed in shape.
“I will get win 37 in Tulsa. Being in [training camp in] Big Bear for so many months has given me another life in boxing, before I have been in meetings, on the phone, flying back and forth, LA-Norway, Norway-LA, but I’ve been just completely focused on my boxing and I am in the best shape, I cannot remember the last time I was in such great shape and I cannot wait for Saturday.
“Where I box doesn’t matter to me, I just get in the ring and I’m excited to share the ring with a great fighter. I’ve travelled the world and boxed indoors and outdoors; this is my job and it’s what we do. We have our routines and we are following them; we’re going to do the work inside the ring and that’s all the matters. The set up in Tulsa looks great and I’m excited to be a part of it, it’s completely new.
“I feel great knowing that we’ve both stayed in camp and so we’ll both be the best versions of ourselves. I think that it’s one of the best fights that Matchroom could come back with in the States.
“The best fighters will adapt to the new conditions. When I go into the ring, I just focus on my opponent and nothing else, so it will be different but I have experienced a lot of weird stuff in my career, it’s been many years now and I honestly think that I have experienced everything so I don’t think no crowd being there will be an issue at all. I am there to do a job and that’s where my focus is.
“It’s a huge fight. The setting, being the main fight, a tough opponent in Jessica who we all know from her fights with Erica Farias and Katie Taylor; I think we’re opening boxing for Matchroom with a bang in America.”
Braekhus-McCaskill will be televised live on DAZN in the US.