Turhan Joins MVP, Putting All Four Lightweight Belts Under One Roof — and Dubois on Collision Course

Turkish lightweight world champion Elif Nur Turhan has signed with Most Valuable Promotions, the promotion announced this week (Boxing News). The move comes as part of a new strategic alliance between MVP and Matchroom Boxing, the promotion Turhan previously fought for (BBC Sport).

Turhan is 31, unbeaten in 14 professional fights, and has stopped eight of those opponents inside the distance. She holds the IBF lightweight title — one of the four major belts that together make up an undisputed champion. Her signing matters because the other three are already in MVP's camp: Caroline Dubois holds the WBC and WBO belts, and American Stephanie Han holds the WBA version (BBC Sport). That means every piece of the undisputed lightweight puzzle now sits with the same promotion.

MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian described Turhan as one of the most exciting fighters in boxing, citing her punching power and aggressive, pressure-heavy style (BBC Sport). She is not the only fighter to make the switch from Matchroom to MVP under the new partnership. Australian two-weight world champion Skye Nicolson has also moved across, and the two promotions announced the tie-up last month with the stated aim of creating more opportunities for female fighters on both rosters (BBC Sport).

The bigger picture keeps getting larger. In July, MVP merged with the Professional Fighters League, bringing together more than 300 fighters across boxing and MMA under one umbrella (BBC Sport). Turhan's arrival adds another world-class name to that roster.

For fight fans, the most tantalising thread is the one that now looks easier to pull. Sky Sports reported that Dubois could face Turhan next, now that both fight under the MVP banner (Sky Sports). Matchroom had already signalled late last year that it wanted to make that unification fight — a bout between two champions to merge their titles — and Dubois has been openly chasing the undisputed crown (Boxing Scene, Sky Sports).

The relationship between Dubois and Turhan has not been entirely warm. In July, Dubois criticised the IBF champion publicly as she turned her attention instead toward Stephanie Han (Sky Sports). Now, with all three champions sharing a promotion, the path to settling that tension in the ring is considerably shorter.

First, Dubois has other business. She defends her WBC and WBO titles against American Amelia Moore on 29 August on an all-female card in Birmingham (BBC Sport). A win there keeps the unification door wide open — and with Turhan now on the same side of the promotional divide, the fight that fans have been waiting for may finally be within reach.