Elif Nur Turhan retains IBF lightweight belt via unanimous decision over Gabriela Tellez
Jun 13, 2026 • 9:46 PM ET
Courtesy of DAZNBeing bigger, older and faster-paced allowed Turkey's Elif Nur Turhan to retain her IBF lightweight title belt Saturday night, but the youth, energy and smarts of 19-year-old Gabriela Tellez ensured she’ll remain a key player in the sport.
The 31-year-old Nur Turhan unleashed her full arsenal in a decisive 10th round to edge Tellez 96-94 on all three scorecards and keep her belt, while delivering Tellez her first loss.
Crushed by the scorecards, Tellez, now 7-1, left the ring hurriedly, fighting back tears after an inspired 10-round effort to withstand the howitzers sent by Turhan, BoxingScene’s 2025 Female Fighter of the Year.
Tellez immediately backed up Nur Turhan in the first with rapid combinations, anchored by hard lefts while blocking the champion’s wild punches, until a few of Nur Turhan's shots found their target late in the frame.
Nur Turhan backed up Tellez with more power shots early in the second, making clear her intention to fatigue Tellez because of the hurtful blows.
Tellez ducked the majority of Nur Turhan’s rights in the third, but protested that the champion’s rushes that forced her to the canvas were over-the-top physical.
Nur Turhan found more success landing in the fourth while Tellez appeared to be re-charging.
Tellez sought to continue avoiding the rights, slipping under to land some lefts on Nur Turhan in the fifth and sixth.
Possessing the physical strength edge, Nur Turhan produced the more defining punches in the seventh, even as Tellez sought to showcase her ability to bob, weave and find scoring opportunities while impressively blocking the hard shots.
Nur Turhan started the eighth ferociously, hunting Tellez with rights, but the challenger backed her up and impressively circled while landing some scoring lefts. Tellez’s scoring lefts prompted Nur Turhan to stick her tongue out at Tellez in the ninth, as if they didn’t hurt, but they did fully reveal how game the Phoenix fighter is.
Nur Turhan had her greatest success with the right hand in the 10th, landing after pushing Tellez, who again objected and then ended the bout by pushing down Nur Turhan.
It was the second consecutive title defense by Nur Turhan.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
