Women’s Boxing Icon Cecilia ‘The First Lady’ Braekhus (37-2-1, 9 KOs), of Bergen, Norway, will now face four-time world title challenger Maricela ‘La Diva’ Cornejo, (19-6), of Los Angeles, CA this Saturday, August 10 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV. The ten-round bout will be contested for the vacant WBC Interim Super Welterweight Title.
The originally announced WBC/WBO Super Welterweight World Champion Ema Kozin of Ljubjana, Slovenia is unable to defend her titles against Braekhus due to visa issues.
Presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions, Braekhus vs. Cornejo will headline the Golden Boy Fight Night: Bohachuk vs. Ortiz Prelims which will stream on the Golden Boy You Tube Channel.
Cornejo is returning to action on a three-fight winning streak following a hotly contested 10-round middleweight championship battle against Claressa Shields on June 3, 2023 for the WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO and Ring Magazine titles in Detroit, MI. Two of her additional world title challenges were against current WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn, both fights fought over the distance of ten rounds.
The first women’s undisputed champion, a title she held in the welterweight division for six years (2014-2020), Braekhus seeks a return to world championship glory following a controversially scored majority draw with Terri Harper on October 7, 2023 in Sheffield, England. The bout was contested for the WBA and WBO Super Welterweight World Titles in Harper’s home country.
A true pioneer in boxing, Braekus competed in the first women’s fight on HBO World Championship Boxing defeating top contender Kali Reis over ten rounds on May 5, 2018 in Carson, CA. Successfully defending her undisputed status in the welterweight division, Braekhus debut on the network and first fight in the United States since 2008 was watched by 904,000 fans on HBO and in front of a sold-out crowd at the Stubhub Center (Dignity Health Sports Park).
