SHANNON RYAN believes that a win over Chloe Watson tomorrow evening should catapult her into the mix for a world title shot, or perhaps even a rematch with Emma Dolan, in 2026.
The 28-year-old suffered her only professional defeat against Dolan in June 2024, back when she climbed off the canvas to eventually lose a split decision.
As a result, Ryan, 9-1 (1 KO), felt the urge to not only go back to the drawing board, but also join forces with Arron Woodcock, her head coach, as she now looks to leverage her position as the IBF’s number-two ranked super-flyweight contender.
“It’s like I’ve done a complete 360,” Ryan tells Boxing News. “I just feel like a new woman, and a completely different athlete.”
Interestingly enough, the only woman placed above Ryan in the IBF rankings at 115lbs is Dolan, who successfully defended her British and Commonwealth belts against Lauren Parker this past April.
Indeed, it would appear that the pair are once again on a collision course, only this time around, it seems that both of them find themselves in a world title race of sorts.
“I do think that, in the future, I’ll be able to avenge that loss,” Ryan insists.
“Taking the rematch [with Dolan] immediately, for me, wasn’t the right thing to do – and I’m glad I made that decision. But if that fight was to come now, I would be ready for it.”
It is hardly surprising that Ryan harbours no regrets over her decision, especially when considering the fact that, time and again, we have seen immediate rematches swing the exact same way as before.
Now, she finds herself in a far stronger position, and with a win over Watson, 8-1, tomorrow night, the opportunities to define her career in 2026 could be endless.
Ahead of their showdown on the undercard of Kieron Conway vs George Liddard at York Hall, Bethnal Green, Watson is coming off a defeat to Jasmina Zapotoczna, whom Ryan convincingly outpointed in February 2024.
But still, the polished technician is under no illusion that her next assignment will be anything like a walk in the park.
“I think it’s a good 50-50 fight [with Watson],” Ryan admits. “Irrespective of Chloe’s defeat [to Zapotoczna], we’re fighting for the IBF Inter-Continental title, so I do believe that a win could propel me towards the bigger fights in 2026.”
If her much-talked-about rematch with Dolan fails to materialise, then Ryan may look to land a shot against IBF world champion Irma Garcia.
With a career that stretches beyond 15 years, the 44-year-old Mexican certainly has a wealth of experience to back up her credentials at world level.
But even so, there is no reason for Ryan not to be licking her lips at the idea of securing an opportunity against Garcia, or in fact, Dolan, next year.
