| Delfine Persoon | |
| Weight: |
|
| Height: | 175 cm |
| Birth Date: | 14 January 1985 |
| Birth Place: | Hooglede, West Flanders, Belgium |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Boxrec: | 496312 |
| Total: | 54 |
| Wins: | 49 |
| Ko: | 19 |
| Losses: | 3 |
| No Contests: | 2 |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Delfine Persoon (pronounced as /nl/; born 14 January 1985)[1] is a Belgian professional boxer. She held the IBF female lightweight title in 2012 and the WBC female lightweight title from 2014 to June 2019, losing the title in a unification fight against Katie Taylor for the undisputed lightweight championship.[2] As of September 2020, she is ranked as the world's best active female super-featherweight by BoxRec,[3] the second best active female lightweight by The Ring,[4] and the second best active female, pound for pound, by BoxRec,[5] fifth by The Ring and seventh by ESPN.[6]
Persoon, who works as a railway policewoman, started professional boxing in 2009 - switching to boxing after a career in competitive judo. In March 2011 she became EBU European Champion against Nicole Boss.[7] She successfully defended her title in November 2011 against Myriam Dellal.
In February 2012, Persoon won the WIBF world title with a technical knockout (TKO) against Lucia Morelli. In September 2012 she added the IBF world title with a TKO against Erin McGowan. In January 2013, she successfully defended her WIBF title against Anita Torti. In December 2013 she also gained the WIBA world title.[8]
In March 2013, Persoon won a WBC final eliminator against Kremena Petkova, gaining the right to challenge Erica Farias for the WBC title. In September 2013 she was stripped of the IBF title for inactivity, having failed to defend it in the intervening year. The vacant title was claimed by Victoria Bustos on 21 September.[8]
In December 2013, she won a unification fight with Lucia Morelli for the WIBF & WBF titles.[9] This victory made her the number 1 lightweight in the world according to BoxRec.
On 20 April 2014, Persoon won the WBC title on points from Farias.[10]
See main article: Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.. In December 2018, it was revealed that Persoon offered $100,000 to IBF and WBA champion Katie Taylor for a fight.[11] Taylor's manager however stated that "Taylor would not even get out of bed for this sum."[12] Eventually, a lightweight unification fight between Persoon and Taylor was set for 1 June 2019, at the Madison Square Garden in New York, on the undercard for the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. heavyweight title fight.[13] [14] In addition to all four sanctioning body's titles being on the line, The Ring magazine belt was also at stake. [15] Persoon's management labelled Taylor's team "totally disrespectful" and claimed "psychological warfare" after a series of late fight week demands. This included forcing Persoon to switch hotel as Taylor was staying in the same hotel, demanding that she take an additional blood test and prove Persoon has exercise asthma.[16] [17] Taylor won a controversial majority decision to become the undisputed lightweight champion.[18]
On 11 November 2019, Persoon won the WBA interim super-featherweight title beating Helen Joseph by unanimous decision.[19]
A rematch with Taylor took place on 22 August 2020 at the Matchroom Sport headquarters in Brentwood, Essex, for the undisputed female lightweight title.[20] Taylor won by unanimous decision.
Persoon is scheduled to challenge Alycia Baumgardner for WBC super featherweight title on September 27, 2024 in Atlanta, GA.[21]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | NC | 49–3 | Alycia Baumgardner | 4 (10), | 27 Sep 2024 | ||||
| 53 | Win | 49–3 | Agustina Marisa Belen Rojas | UD | 6 | 01 Nov 2023 | |||
| 52 | Win | 48–3 | Bo Mi Re Shin | SD | 10 | 28 May 2023 | |||
| 51 | NC | 47–3 | Ikram Kerwat | 1 (10), | 13 Nov 2022 | ||||
| 50 | Win | 47–3 | Elhem Mekhaled | UD | 10 | 21 May 2022 | |||
| 49 | Win | 46–3 | Beatriz Aguilar | RTD | 4 (8) | 1 Nov 2021 | |||
| 48 | Win | 45–3 | Elena Gradinar | UD | 10 | 3 Jul 2021 | |||
| 47 | Loss | 44–3 | Katie Taylor | UD | 10 | 22 Aug 2020 | |||
| 46 | Win | 44–2 | Helen Joseph | UD | 10 | 11 Nov 2019 | |||
| 45 | Loss | 43–2 | Katie Taylor | 10 | 1 Jun 2019 | ||||
| 44 | Win | 43–1 | Melissa St. Vil | RTD | 7 (10), | 9 Mar 2019 | |||
| 43 | Win | 42–1 | Judy Waguthii | TKO | 10 (10) | 8 Dec 2018 | |||
| 42 | Win | 41–1 | Natalia del Valle Aguirre | UD | 10 | 9 Jun 2018 | |||
| 41 | Win | 40–1 | Monica Gentili | UD | 8 | 20 Jan 2018 | |||
| 40 | Win | 39–1 | Myriam Dellal | UD | 10 | 11 Nov 2017 | |||
| 39 | Win | 38–1 | Everline Odero | DQ | 8 (8) | 25 Dec 2016 | |||
| 38 | Win | 37–1 | Ruth Stephanie Aquino | DQ | 1 (10) | 11 Nov 2016 | |||
| 37 | Win | 36–1 | Christina Linardatou | UD | 10 | 4 Jun 2016 | |||
| 36 | Win | 35–1 | Maïva Hamadouche | UD | 10 | 11 Nov 2015 | |||
| 35 | Win | 34–1 | Jane Kavulani | UD | 8 | 26 Sep 2015 | |||
| 34 | Win | 33–1 | Nicole Boss | TKO | 9 (10), | 25 Apr 2015 | |||
| 33 | Win | 32–1 | Florence Muthoni | TKO | 8 (8) | 28 Feb 2015 | |||
| 32 | Win | 31–1 | Diana Prazak | TKO | 9 (10), | 11 Nov 2014 | |||
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | Judy Waguthii | UD | 8 | 27 Sep 2014 | |||
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Érica Farías | UD | 10 | 20 Apr 2014 | |||
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Lucia Morelli | TKO | 10 (10), | 13 Dec 2013 | |||
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Eva Bajic | TKO | 3 (8) | 11 Nov 2013 | |||
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Irma Balijagic Adler | UD | 8 | 4 Oct 2013 | |||
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Galina Gumliiska | TKO | 2 (8) | 23 Aug 2013 | |||
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Kremena Petkova | KO | 2 (10) | 29 Mar 2013 | |||
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Fatuma Zarika | UD | 8 | 23 Feb 2013 | |||
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Anita Torti | UD | 10 | 12 Jan 2013 | |||
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Marianna Gulyas | KO | 3 (6) | 1 Nov 2012 | |||
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | Erin McGowan | TKO | 7 (10), | 21 Sep 2012 | |||
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Valija Lasmanovica | TKO | 3 (6) | 29 Jun 2012 | |||
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Loli Munoz | UD | 8 | 27 Apr 2012 | |||
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Lucia Morelli | TKO | 5 (10) | 25 Feb 2012 | |||
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Myriam Dellal | UD | 10 | 1 Nov 2011 | |||
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Angel McKenzie | UD | 6 | 30 Sep 2011 | |||
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Milena Koleva | UD | 8 | 24 Jun 2011 | |||
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Floarea Lihet | UD | 6 | 1 Apr 2011 | |||
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Nicole Boss | UD | 10 | 5 Mar 2011 | |||
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Daniela David | 3 (6) | 25 Dec 2010 | ||||
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Mirabela Calugareanu | KO | 2 (6) | 10 Dec 2010 | |||
| 10 | Loss | 9–1 | Zelda Tekin | TKO | 4 (8) | 1 Nov 2010 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Zelda Tekin | 2 (6) | 9 Oct 2010 | ||||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Kristine Shergold | UD | 8 | 11 Sep 2010 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Nicky Mutsaert | KO | 2 (6) | 24 May 2010 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Arlene de Freitas | UD | 6 | 30 Apr 2010 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Julie Robert | UD | 8 | 6 Mar 2010 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Arlene de Freitas | UD | 6 | 5 Dec 2009 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Mariska Mulder | 2 (6) | 21 Nov 2009 | ||||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Renáta Szebelédi | 6 | 4 Oct 2009 | ||||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jana Latova | 2 (6) | 23 May 2008 |