Promoters Dispute Francesca Hennessy Offer for Thorslund Title Fight

An effort to match British contender Francesca Hennessy with undisputed bantamweight champion Dina Thorslund has produced a public disagreement between the fighters’ promoters. BBC Sport reported that Boxxer says it offered close to $250,000, approximately £183,000, for Thorslund to face Hennessy in the United Kingdom in November or December.

Most Valuable Promotions, which promotes Thorslund, rejected the approach as incomplete and disputed the reported financial figure. MVP head of matchmaking Mike Leanardi told BBC Sport that the proposal did not include a confirmed broadcaster, date or venue. He said the company would engage more meaningfully if a genuine opportunity containing those details emerged and Thorslund wanted to pursue it.

Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom had said the two companies were discussing a potential contest. Hennessy is ranked as the WBC’s number one challenger, but no agreement has been announced. The competing accounts leave the proposed fight uncertain, with its timing, location and broadcast arrangements all unresolved beyond Boxxer’s stated preference for a UK event late this year.

Hennessy, who turns 22 in October, is unbeaten through nine professional bouts. She stopped Aurora de Persio in May, recording the second stoppage victory of a career that began in September 2023. A win over Thorslund would make Hennessy the youngest undisputed world champion of the four-belt era, according to BBC Sport. The existing mark belongs to undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora, who achieved the feat at 22 years and 218 days.

Thorslund, 32, holds the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF bantamweight championships after defeating Cherneka Johnson in August. She had previously relinquished the WBC and WBO belts after becoming pregnant, then returned to the division and completed her collection of the four major titles. Her status as undisputed champion is central to her team’s insistence on firm event terms before negotiations advance.

The disagreement widened when Thorslund’s manager Lee Eaton accused Boxxer of using the champion’s name for publicity. MVP also said Boxxer had separately proposed a fight between Hennessy and former champion Ebanie Bridges, another MVP fighter, and questioned how the two approaches fit together. For now, Hennessy remains the leading WBC challenger, but the proposed Thorslund bout has not moved beyond disputed preliminary talks.