Elif Nur Turhan vs Gabriela Tellez

This one feels like a brave bit of matchmaking, but maybe too brave for the young girl. Elif Nur Turhan is not some paper champion being wheeled out for a soft defence. She’s unbeaten, heavy-handed, and she took that IBF belt off Beatriz Ferreira, which tells you straight away she’s not all mouth and no trousers. Gabriela Tellez is talented, sharp, and young enough to fight without fear, but this is a proper jump into deep water.

Turhan is the grown woman in this fight. She’s compact, strong, and when she lets that left hook go, it comes over like someone’s thrown a brick wrapped in leather. She doesn’t need twenty flashy moves. She closes the space, gets her feet under her, and makes opponents feel every exchange. Tellez has good legs, good ambition, and she’ll try to nick the early rounds by moving, touching, and staying out of the firing line.

The problem is, you can’t run a marathon in a phone box. At some stage, Turhan will cut the ring, lean on her, and start making those young legs work harder than they want to. Tellez’s weakness is not courage; she’ll have plenty of that. It’s seasoning. She hasn’t yet had that hard ten-round championship grind where every mistake costs you.

For Tellez, the key is distance. Jab, move, don’t admire your work. For Turhan, it’s pressure with patience. Don’t chase, don’t swing wild, just keep walking her into the ropes and make the kid pay rent.

Prediction: Turhan by stoppage. Tellez starts lively, shows heart, maybe pinches a couple early, but the champion’s pressure and power break her down late.