(JUNE 22)  On Saturday July 8 at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Ludwigshafen, Germany, undefeated World Boxing Federation (WBF) Womens World Lightweight Champion Nicole Wesner will make her third title-defense against Germany-based Bosnian Hasna Tukic on a show promoted by Sauerland Event.

Wesner, 12-0 (6), is currently residing in Vienna, Austria, but was born in Cologne and moved to Mannheim, only a few kilometres from Ludwigshafen, at the age of seven and lived there for twenty-two years. So this will essentially be a home-coming fight for her.

“For years I have wanted to fight in Mannheim, but it has been difficult to arrange”, says Wesner, the 2015 WBF Female Fighter of The Year.

“In Mannheim you mostly see Thai-Boxing and MMA events, so it is a great honour for me to return home in Ludwigshafen, so close to Mannheim. And doing it with Sauerland Event is the best possible platform.”

Wesner won the WBF World Lightweight title in December of 2014, stopping 11-1 Hungarian Gina Chamie in three rounds. In September of 2015 she successfully defended against former two-time world champion Irma Balijagic Adler (15-5), and last December she retained her crown by halting Dominican Diafana Salazar (9-0) in two rounds.

22-year-old Hasna Tukic, 9-6 (8), turned professional in 2013 and is quite the experienced campaigner, despite her young age. Nicknamed “The Black Panther”, she already has six championship fights on her resume, having won a few regional titles along the way.

Coming off a first-round injury-defeat in March, she is now healed and reportedly very motivated, and more than ready, for what is her biggest fight to date. She is going into “Wesner-territory”, but living in Regensburg near Bayern, she is not that far from home either.