Jessica McCaskill has the biggest fight of her career against undisputed Welterweight ruler Cecilia Brækhus on the streets of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 15, live on DAZN – and McCaskill believes that victory would lead to even more mega-fights.
McCaskill (8-2 3 KOs) has been a revelation in her last four fights, first travelling to the UK to give Katie Taylor the sternest of tests in her in the Irish star’s first defense of her WBA World Lightweight title in December 2017 in London.
The Chicagoan then became World champion herself in her next fight, moving to Super-Lightweight and taking on WBC title holder Erica Farias on home turf in the Windy City in October 2018, ripping the title from the Argentine in Matchroom and DAZN’s first fight night in the US.
McCaskill unified the division in her next outing when she added the WBA strap to her WBC belt against Anahi Sanchez in Maryland in May 2019 and held onto the titles in a gripping rematch with Farias back in Chicago five months later.
‘CasKILLA’ can now become a two-weight champion and undisputed 147lber in just her 11th pro outing, but while her focus is on the tough task of dethroning the unbeaten Brækhus (36-0 9 KOs) and the trappings of success that would come with the win, the ambitious 35 year old knows that even bigger fights would come next as women’s boxing continues to rise.
“We’ll be in the Hall of Fame after winning this, that’s the big prize in the fight,’ said McCaskill. “After that, we move on to more history, to bigger and more fights with the top tier names.
“The ultimate opportunity and reward in the fight is beating Cecilia, getting the belts and being in the history books. Then we’ll move on and things will be bigger and broader and we’re just continuing to look for the levels and the steps in female boxing.
“This is a massive step from even the last fight, we just want to continue to conquer every challenge that comes our way. Winning on August 15 is everything, it opens up more mega fights; the Katie Taylor rematch, Amanda Serrano, Claressa Shields at 145lbs – there’s so many doors that can be opened by beating Cecilia.
“I’m happy to be back and to be boxing on August 15 and headlining. We’ve headlined before so it’s exciting to add another one to the resume and this is a major fight but it does get bigger than this and that’s something that we’ll have to see once this one is done.
“We’ve fought at higher weights and lower weights, the adjustment is minimal and with every fight I’ve had, my body has developed more and more. The transition has been smooth and easy and we haven’t had to do much as far as weight is concerned.
“I am not approaching the fight any differently with their being no fans, I just feel it’s going to be a more focused and intense fight. I’ll be able to hear every word from my coach, I won’t have to bring myself down from the energy of the crowd, I’ll be able to go in focused and ready to fight.
“We’re under the Tulsa city lights and the stars in an outdoor event, it’s a spectacular venue and I’m excited to be part of it.”
Brækhus-McCaskill tops the bill on a massive night of action in the unique setting of the downtown Tulsa streets as Matchroom return Stateside.
Rising Super-Welterweight Israil Madrimov (5-0 5 KOs) can close in on World title honors as he meets Eric Walker (20-2 9 KOs) in a final eliminator for the WBA World title while Madrimov’s fellow countryman Shakhram Giyasov (9-0 7 KOs) puts his WBA International Super-Lightweight title against Rey Perez (24-11 8 KOs), after original opponent Francisco Rojo was forced out of the bout after testing positive for COVID-19 during his training camp in his home city, and a trio of young talents complete the card in Nikita Ababiy (8-0 6 KOs), Raymond Ford (5-0 2 KOs) and the debut of amateur star Marc Castro.
