FOR perhaps the first time in her illustrious career, questions were asked when Katie Taylor’s tired hand was raised following an all-out war with Delfine Persoon last summer. On Saturday night the Bray native Taylor intends to remove those “question marks” and set the record straight when she faces the Belgian again.
Taylor and Persoon first tangled at Madison Square Garden in June and it was a fight that graced New York’s iconic boxing venue. Right from the start, Ireland’s Olympic Games heroine and undisputed lightweight world champion was under pressure and, despite her best efforts to fight Persoon off, the Belgian police offer kept coming until the final bell.
When it rang there were many at ringside, and more watching on television around the world, who were convinced that Persoon had done enough but Taylor was ahead on two of the three judges’ scorecards (the third had a 95-95 draw) and took a majority decision.
For Taylor, Saturday night is about proving her doubters wrong and to do that she has to find a way to negate Persoon’s come-forward, aggressive style. The temptation is to fight the Belgian’s fire with fire of her own but Taylor knows she has to be more scientific at Eddie Hearn’s ‘Matchroom Fight Camp’.
“I want to box a bit smarter on Saturday night,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to producing a career-best performance. I’ve trained hard, I’ve worked so hard over the last few months and I feel more than ready.
“I guess I enjoy a fight a bit too much. One of the most enjoyable parts of boxing is actually standing there and fighting, but I have to be a bit more disciplined this time round.”
A Persoon victory last year would have been a huge upset. She came close but, in the headline act, rank underdog Andy Ruiz junior went a step further by knocking out world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Joshua went on to win the rematch emphatically as Taylor intends to do the same.
“I can’t say I was taking too much notice of her reaction (in the ring after the first fight),” said Taylor.
“I was just delighted and relieved that the decision went my way.
“I obviously knew it was a very, very close fight and it could have went either way. It was a brilliant fight and I knew that but it was probably a bit too exciting for my liking. I was just delighted and relieved that the decision went my way.
“I knew there was going to be a rematch because of how close the first fight actually was.
“I am in this sport to be in the biggest fights possible and I want to be involved in fights people want to see. I knew that this rematch was going to be inevitable so when Serrano pulled out and Persoon was available, we were delighted. It’s the biggest fight possible for me right now and I’m so excited about it.
“I want to win every fight convincingly and I don’t want to leave any question marks, so I’m looking forward to Saturday night.”
