KATIE TAYLOR COULD fight twice more in 2021, says her promoter Eddie Hearn, with either a rematch against last night’s opponent, Natasha Jonas, or a long-awaited showdown with arch rival Amanda Serrano being earmarked for December.
Firstly, however, Taylor will likely have to satisfy one of the four major governing bodies with a mandatory defence of her undisputed lightweight titles against one from the queue of contenders across the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO’s 135-pound rankings.
Matchroom chief Hearn has indicated that this fight could take place in September at an outdoor arena in Leeds, where he’s staging a rematch between hometown hero Josh Warrington and the Mexican who recently stopped him in a stunning upset, Mauricio Lara.
Incidentally, Taylor is a Leeds United fan. Her father and former trainer, Pete Taylor, was born in the Yorkshire city.
“I like the [Jonas] rematch,” said Hearn. “She’s got about seven mandatories lined up so we’ve got to do something with them. We’ve got a big outdoors show in Leeds, the Warrington-Lara rematch in early September. She’s a huge Leeds fan, as well, so I’d like to do something there.
“I like the Jonas rematch. I also love the Serrano fight. I think it’s one of those two for the December fight for Katie Taylor.”
Hearn acknowledged that he “fell out” with Serrano after she withdrew from a scheduled bout with Taylor last year but added: “We’re all talking again.”
“You kind of get to a point where you say, ‘Look, let’s stop being idiots and let’s just make the fight,’” he said.
Taylor and Jonas again combined to produce an exhilarating encounter nine years on from their legendary London Olympics quarter-final, with the champion edging out her Liverpudlian foe-slash-friend on a razor-tight unanimous decision (96-94, 96-95×2).
It required a nigh on superhuman rally by the champion in the final minute to seal a result with which Jonas and her team, to their credit, had no complaints in the aftermath.
Catching her breath, Taylor touched on a recurring recent theme: “Again, it was probably a bit too exciting for my liking.
“It was definitely a toe-to-toe battle in there.
I thought I was a bit flat early on, but I dug deep to win the championship rounds. I definitely showed the heart of a champion in there and that’s what won me the fight in the end.
On Jonas, Taylor said: “She showed everything it takes to win a world title in her last two performances. Tonight was a brilliant showcase for women’s boxing and boxing overall. Every time we fought as amateurs it was that type of fight as well. I’d prepared for a hard 10-round battle tonight and that’s exactly what it was.
“Eddie was saying that fight would have brought the PPV sales up a small bit. I feel sorry for the main event coming out after that fight! It was a thrilling fight.
“I’m just delighted to come out of it with the belts and still undefeated. 18-0, onwards and upwards. This is what I’m in the sport for: I want to be involved in the biggest fights. There’s plenty of those fights out there for me.”
