Cecilia Braekhus, now 40 years old and midway through her 16th year as a professional, will look to conquer a second weight class when she faces undefeated WBC junior middleweight titleholder Patricia Berghult on the Aug. 13 Oscar Rivas vs Lukasz Rozanski show.
Former undisputed welterweight queen Braekhus (36-2, 9 KO) held at least one 147 lb title for over a decade, ultimately making 10 defenses as undisputed champion. Her reign came to an end in a questionable 2020 majority decision loss to Jessica McCaskill, and she likewise came up short in their 2021 rematch.
She’ll end a 19-month layoff against Berghult (15-0, 3 KO), who’s spent much of her career fighting in her native Sweden. She won the interim belt with a decision over Hannah Rankin in 2019, then claimed Claressa Shields’ vacated title by beating Olivia Belkacem two years later.
The fight is a special one for Braekhus in another way, too. She was born in Colombia, where the card will be held, but was adopted at two years old by Norwegian parents. It will be her return to her birth country.
This is the only revealed undercard bout for the show outside of a clash between TBA and Canada-based Cameroonian light heavyweight Dieudonne Wilfred Seyi Ntsengue (9-0, 5 KO).