Terri Harper is very much on top in that one too, with a three-punch combination early in the round standing out.

There's blood now pouring from a cut above Hannah Rankin's left eye and her corner says "you've got to move your head more".

Image source, Matchroom

Terri Harper has the better of the opening round, and there's already some reddening on the left eye of Hannah Rankin.

Harper's trainer Stefy Bull tells her she's "levels above" the champion.

As the introductions are made, there are some boos for the champ Hannah Rankin from Scotland. The Nottingham crowd is definitely behind England's Terri Harper.

Terri Harper is now in the ring in Nottingham, and champ Hannah Rankin now joins her. Let's do this!!

IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington, who is working for DAZN in Nottingham tonight, has just announced his next fight.

He told DAZN: "I'm back at the Leeds Arena on 10 December against mandatory challenger Luis Alberto Lopez.

"I can't wait to get back in. He's going to bring it. I'm not learning now. I don't get paid for overtime. I feel like I'm stronger than I've ever been."

So who are you backing? Thumbs up for Joyce, down for Parker.

At 32, Hannah Rankin may be older and have more experience than Terri Harper, 25. At 5ft 8in, the Scot is also three inches taller than Harper. But the Englishwoman has only suffered one defeat from her 14 fights.

Who do you think is going to win this one? Hit thumbs up for champ Rankin, or down for challenger Harper.

Image source, Getty/BBC

Daldeep Kaur
BBC Sport in Nottingham

In the dressing room with Team Rankin, ready and waiting for the ring walk, a slight tense feeling but the team is ready for this one.

Hannah is “feeling great”.

Hannah Rankin has also boosted her preparations by training with a big name. She spent time in a training camp with Claressa Shields in Miami before the American's highly-anticipated showdown with Marshall, which was subsequently moved from 10 September to 15 October following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

"It was perfect to get some rounds in with Claressa and get some proper work in," says Rankin. "It's the third time I've joined her in camp.

"She's one of the pound-for-pound top female fighters of our generation so it's invaluable. To have two world champions training in the gym with the same sort of vibe, both going to be defending what's ours, it just brings that little bit of spark and extra excitement to training."

Image source, Getty Images

Tyson Fury is in Manchester tonight supporting Joseph Parker, who has been training in Fury's hometown of Morecambe.

Parker assisted Fury in his preparation to fight Dillian Whyte earlier this year, with Fury winning that Wembley bout.

Parker will now be hoping Fury can return the favour this time.

Former WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards is among the familiar faces ringside in Nottingham.

Hannah Rankin said there how she has two world titles. She does, although her WBA title is the only one recognised as one of the four top-level world titles.

England's Natasha Jonas has two of the others (WBO and WBC), so victory tonight would boost Rankin's hopes of setting up a unification clash next year.

Champion Hannah Rankin is not so sure that Terri Harper is ready to felt at super-welterweight though.

"I don't believe she's a 154lbs fighter," she said. "I believe I'm too big and I'm too strong, but I'm not underestimating her capabilities and her skillset.

"I'm a true 154lbs fighter, that is my weight class. There is a reason I've won two world titles in that division.

"For me I think it's just a step too far for Terri Harper and she's going to find that out. She'll experience what it's like to be in with a true super-welterweight and it's not an experience she's going to enjoy."

Image source, Matchroom

Terri Harper was the WBC and IBO female super-featherweight champion before losing the titles when Alycia Baumgardner inflicted the first loss of Harper's pro career in November 2021.

Harper, 25, regrouped to beat Yamila Belen Abellaneda in March and is jumping up three weights to challenge Hannah Rankin so how big a factor will that be?

"I feel like a lot of people don't realise that I walk around naturally at 10, 12 or 11 stone, so me cutting down 24 pounds down to make super-featherweight, that was reckless," she said.

"I was fighting world-class fighters under-fuelled, fatigued and unhappy. When I got this opportunity to go up so many weight divisions, I just know I feel comfortable at this weight."

Hannah Rankin became Scotland's first female boxing world champion when she beat Maria Lindberg to win the vacant WBA and IBO super-welterweight titles in November 2021.

The 32-year-old, who also happens to be a classical bassoonist, then defended her titles with victory against Alejandra Ayala in May.

Here she is speaking before that win at the Hydro, telling us how she meshes her two very different lives.

Andy Burke
BBC Scotland

Where once a female world title match would be described as a great fight for women's boxing, increasingly such bouts are described as a great fight - period.

Scotland's Hannah Rankin v England's Terri Harper falls into that category.

"I think that's where we're heading with women's boxing," Rankin told BBC Scotland at her training camp in London.

"It's not going to be women's boxing, it's just going to be boxing. That will have been a long time coming, finally. There are some fantastic fights out there. Mine and Terri's is going to be a cracker, Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall is also going to be a cracker (rescheduled for 15 October)."

Image source, Matchroom

Image source, Reuters

That's right folks, we're bringing you live action from two UK venues tonight with world-title fights being held in Nottingham AND Manchester.

The headliner is Joe Joyce's heavyweight clash with former world champion Joseph Parker, with the winner set to be in prime position to challenge WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Also in Manchester, featherweight champion Amanda Serrano has a unification clash with Sarah Mahfoud.

But first, we'll have all the latest from Nottingham, where Hannah Rankin defends her WBA super-welterweight title against Terri Harper. The ringwalk for that one is expected at 21:00 BST, with Joyce v Parker due at 22:30 BST.

So strap yourselves in fight fans, it should be a cracker!