Cecilia Braekhus signs with Matchroom

Boxing’s “First Lady,” undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus, has joined forces with Matchroom Boxing, and her first fight under their banner will be announced “shortly.”

“I’m very proud to announce that I am joining forces with Matchroom Boxing for the next chapter of my journey,” [said] Braekhus. “As always I’ll be looking for the biggest fights and the toughest challenges in the ring. Thanks very much to my fans all over the world who have supported me for so many years, I’m excited to return to the ring soon. Thanks also to my team who have worked diligently to make this happen.”

“I’m delighted to welcome Cecilia to the team and I’m very excited for the future,” said Eddie Hearn. “Cecilia has been a pioneer of women’s boxing and is established as one of the biggest stars in the sport. Right now women’s boxing is stronger than ever and there are some huge fights and events to be made over the next few years that I fully expect Cecilia to be a major part of.”

The 38-year-old Braekhus (35-0, 9 KO) has held at least one welterweight title for the past decade, starting with her 2009 decision over Vinni Skovgaard to claim the WBA and WBC belts. She beat Victoria Cisneros for the WBO belt three fights later, and In 2014, she completed her collection by defeating future(?) Claressa Shields foe Ivana Hazbin to claim the IBF belt.

She’s defended her undisputed status nine times, including stoppages of Mikaela Lauren and ATG puncher Anne Sophie Mathis. She also had the distinction of headlining the last-ever HBO boxing card, where she took a decision Aleksandra Magdziak Lopez.

The question now is who Matchroom can pit her against. The obvious dream fight is Katie Taylor, but the former lightweight queen has yet to debut a division below Braekhus’s domain. Guess we’ll find out “shortly.”