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For many years Anne Sophie Mathis was regarded among the best, if not the best, pound-for-pound female boxers worldwide, however after losing decisions to Holly Holm plus Cecilia Braekhus in back-to-back welterweight world title fights, Anne Sophie Mathis, 26-3 (22), is now on a mission to get back to the top.
On June 1 at the Salle Roger Boileau in her hometown of Dombasle, France, Anne Sophie Mathis will move up in weight to fight Dominican Yahaira Hernandez, 14-4 (8), for the vacant World Boxing Federation Super Welterweight title, trying to become a three-weight world champion.
At 35 years old, plus nearly 18 years as a pro, Mathis understands that she is in the twilight of her career, and besides winning the WBF World title at Super Welterweight, she has a clear goal for the near future: Revenge!
“I’ve fought all of the best opponents at Welterweight, therefore we chose to make a change and go up in weight. however my goal is still to get a rematch with Breakhus”, stated Mathis.
“If I win this title, Im right back and can negotiate the rematch with Breakhus. Sweet revenge!”
Mathis turned professional in 2005, and won her 1st world title, at Light Welterweight, the following year. In 2011 she won the WBF Welterweight title, which she lost to Holly Holm last year in Albuquerque, USA. Prior to which she had brutally knocked Holm out in their 1st encounter, but a rubber match is probably never going happen because the American recently announced her retirement.
However Breakhus remains available, and Anne Sophie Mathis is still among the best worldwide. Going on the road to fight the Norwegian girl the first time didn’t scare her, and she is prepared to do it again if she gets the opportunity. And with that in mind, Mathis feels that the Hernandez bout is certainly a special occasion, saying:
“We selected Dombasle for this fight because it will likely be my last chance to fight here, in front of my fans, my friends, my family. Even if this means making financial sacrifices, this is where I want to fight this time!”
In Yahaira Hernandez, Anne Sophie Mathis will be in with a tough cookie. Hernandez provides the experience, power plus skills in order to give Mathis a hard night! The 25-year-old from Santo Domingo is coming off 3 knockout victories, and she’s only come up short in world title-challenges against some of the best:
In 2007 against Natascha Ragosina at Super Middleweight and Karolina Lukasik at Super Welterweight, in 2008 against Jisselle Salandy at Super Welterweight, and in 2011 against WBF World Champion Christina Hammer at Middleweight.
Having struggled with injuries ever since the Breakhus loss, Mathis isn’t underestimating Hernandez:
“This is a tough fight, and I expect a strong challenge off Hernandez. It had been difficult dealing with the injuries, however I have been injury-free now for 2 months and have trained two times a day, so I will be in top condition and ready to take care of her!”
