AFLW star Tayla Harris won the Australian Female Middleweight Title by knocking out kickboxing star Margarite Butcher in the second round at the Melbourne Pavilion.
The fight was scheduled to have eight rounds but Harris proved to be too strong for Butcher who seemed to be wildly outmatched. This was Butcher’s third fight against Harris which yet again resulted in a loss. So far she has only three professional boxing fights out of her sixteen kickboxing fights and 10 wins in her career.
Prior to the fight, Harris stated that she is looking to make a statement.
“I’ve been working a lot on power and trying to make a statement in boxing in Australia,” she said. “Obviously, I’ve got ambitions to fight around the world, so I’ll try my best to make a statement and whether that means a knockout or just a really clinical fight, that’s what I’ll aim to do.”
Harris and Butcher last met in August 2018, since then Butcher had been training in Thailand, and Harris had been basking under her sudden online popularity due to her kickass response to online trolling over the now iconic image of the star kicking during her side’s final round match of the AFLW season.
Since then Harris became the most recognizable face of the event, even harnessing a divisive statue immortalizing the kick at Melbourne’s Federation Square.
This second round knockout will definitely add to the rise of Harris in the world rankings. She is currently ranked seventh in the World Boxing Association’s female middleweight division.
With a record of six wins, zero losses, a draw and now the holder of the Australian Female Middleweight title, Harris is well on her way of building a noteworthy international career.
