WBSS to stage women’s 130-pound tournament this fall

The organizers hope to bring some top featherweights and lightweights into the fold as well

Super featherweight is arguably the hottest division in women’s boxing right now, and it’s only going to get hotter later this year. Mike Coppinger reports that the World Boxing Super Series is set to return this fall with an eight-woman tournament at 130 pounds.

The big four at the moment are WBC champ Mikaela Mayer, WBC champ Terri Harper, IBF champ Maiva Hamadouche, and WBA champ Hyun Mi Choi. Top Rank and Matchroom have been trying to put together unifications, but continue to run into trouble; a May clash between Harper and Choi fell through when “Belter” re-injured her hand, while Mayer and the Olympics-bound Hamadouche have been sniping each other over aborted attempts to stage a fight.

While this quartet has largely cleaned out the division’s suit of interesting challengers, the Sauerlands tell Coppinger that they’ll also be looking to entice top featherweights and lightweights to join in on the fun. That theoretically puts the likes of Amanda Serrano, Delfine Persoon, Tasha Jonas, and most notably Katie Taylor on the table.

If it all goes smoothly, this could wind up one of the biggest and most compelling women’s boxing events in recent memory. That’s definitely an “if,” of course; as others pointed out, the WBSS has had its share of issues, most notably in last season’s agonizingly stretched cruiserweight tournament. Still, it’s fun to be optimistic sometimes.

Who’s your dream lineup?