WBC, IBF, WBA & WBO World Female lightweight titles: Katie Taylor (15-0) v Delfine Persoon (44-2) (tonight, Matchroom Fight Camp, live on Sky Sports Box Office)
WILL it be the boxer (Katie Taylor) against the brawler tonight? Maybe, but last time out - in arguably the greatest ladies fights of all time - it was brawler versus brawler because Taylor forgot all about her slick boxing skills and got stuck into an all-out war with the relentless Delfine Persoon who came within a whisker of beating her.
A battered and bruised Taylor got out of Madison Square Garden in June 2019 with her undefeated record intact and retained her monopoly on the belts in the ladies’ lightweight division. But despite that majority decision win (one judge had it a draw, the other two went for Taylor) serious questions were asked of her and tonight, at the Matchroom Fight Camp in Eddie Hearn’s Brentford garden, she gets the chance to answer them.
Opportunity knocks in the opposite corner too. Persoon gets the chance to prove that New York was not a one-off and that she has found the way to beat Ireland’s Olympic Games gold medallist. That’s what makes this rematch so intriguing and if tonight’s fight goes the same way as the first one, the Belgian will have her hand raised.
Taylor-Persoon 1 was on the undercard of Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz 1 which of course did end in a shock win for the underdog. Remember what happened in the rematch? Joshua got his act together and won at a canter against a disappointing Ruiz who had gone out to pasture after his victory.
But Persoon is much more disciplined than the American. A police woman by profession, she is dedicated and devoted to the sport of boxing and, despite only having six weeks’ to prepare for tonight’s rumble in Brentford, is adamant she’s in shape and primed to right the wrongs she saw in 2019 when she stormed out of the ring in disappointment.
“You have to go for it,” said Persoon, who was given the time off to train for the fight by the Belgian Federal Police.
“When I got this opportunity we went directly to the training. I always train, I always have a base condition, I go by bicycle to my job, I run at home and I like sports.
“My basic (fitness level) is always good, so six weeks’ preparation is possible, if my basic wasn’t good it wouldn’t be possible.”
What can we expect from her tonight? The same again, there’s no reason for her to change the pressure style that has won her 44 fights out of 46. The Belgian is a relentless volume puncher who stalked Taylor down throughout their thrilling 10-rounder in New York and forced the 24-year-old from Bray to engage in a war that suited her much better.
After watching the first fight back she maintains that a ‘fair score’ would have been a two-round win (96-94 on points) for her.
“I don’t say I’m going to win by a knockout on Saturday,” said Persoon.
“I just want to give a nice fight like the first fight and I hope there is correct judging.”
In the first fight, Taylor made early efforts to control the distance, pick her shots and break Persoon down but the Belgian set her stall out from the first bell and Taylor resorted to trying to fight her off. She couldn’t do it and admits she needs to box more cleverly tonight to silence the doubters and clinch the dominant victory she wants.
“I have to be a bit more disciplined this time round,” she said.
“I’ve been training in Connecticut for the last few months and we’ve been training on the things we need to work on and hopefully I can produce a fantastic performance on Saturday night and get a clear victory.
“The atmosphere is going to be very different to what I’m used to as a pro but I am very used to fighting without a crowd as an amateur and (having no crowd there) might help me not to react to the emotions of the crowd but I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference.
“I’m going in there to better my opponent and it’s not going to be an issue for me.”
You don’t win Olympic, World and European amateur titles without being able to adapt to different styles, so Taylor is obviously capable of making the adjustments required to find a way to win.
If it is boxer versus brawler tonight, Taylor wins. She could win by taking a half step back when Persoon swings, countering, holding and frustrating the Belgian. But Ireland's Olympic Games heroine is a warrior by nature and if it’s another toe-to-toe war - which it could be - the excitement levels will go up but so will the risks.
