SINCE DECIDING TO turn professional back in October 2016, everything Katie Taylor has done has been preparing her for the events of this weekend.
A trailblazer for women’s amateur boxing and gold medallist at London 2012 — the first Olympic Games to host the event — the Bray superstar stated at the time that she wanted to take pro game by storm.
Her ultimate aim? To become the undisputed champion of the world.
Fast-forward three years and the 32-year-old has disposed of every opponent that’s been put in her way. A flawless record of 13 wins (six by knockout) and no defeats has seen Taylor acquire the WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight titles.
At Madison Square Garden this Saturday night, she can make it a clean sweep by claiming the one remaining belt — the WBC — from reigning champion Delfine Persoon.
The experienced Belgian (43-1, 18 KOs) will undoubtedly be Taylor’s toughest test to date and the bout should make for an enthralling spectacle.
The42‘s Gavan Casey is over in New York for fight week, so we’ll bring you all the news as it happens.
However, this promises to be one of the great sporting events of the year, so here are all the details you’ll need if you’re planning to tune in live.
Where can I watch it?
Taylor’s fight is on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s world heavyweight title defence against Anthony Ruiz Jr.
Promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, the entire event is pay-per-view on Sky Sports Box Office, meaning Irish customers (whether you’re Sky or Virgin) must pay a subscription fee of €24.95 to watch it legally.
It’s also available on streaming service DAZN, which serves the US, Canada and a few other countries but not Ireland or the UK.
What time is Katie likely to be fighting?
Taylor-Persoon is third-last on the bill behind the headline fight and the chief support — between Liverpool’s Callum Smith and French-Cameroonian challenger Hassan N’Dam, for the WBA super-middleweight title.
As the event is taking place on the east coast, it estimated that Taylor will enter the ring at around 1.30am Irish time, but that could change slightly depending on what happens earlier in the night.
TV coverage kicks off at 10pm and is scheduled to run through until 6.45am, while you can expect to see Joshua-Ruiz Jr at roughly 4am. Again, that’s only an estimate.
Full card
- Anthony Joshua v Andy Ruiz Jr (IBF, WBA ‘super’, WBO & IBO world heavyweight titles)
- Callum Smith vs Hassan N’Dam (WBA ‘super’ super-middleweight title)
- Katie Taylor v Delfine Persoon (IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO lightweight titles)
- Josh Kelly v Ray Robinson (WBA International welterweight title)
- Joshua Buatsi vs Marco Antonio Periban (WBA International light-heavyweight title)
- Chris Algieri v Tommy Coyle (WBO International super-lightweight title)
- Austin Willians v Quadeer Jenkins (middleweight contest)
- Diego Pacheco v Jared Chauvin (middleweight contest)
- Souleymane Cissokho v Wladimir Hernandez (super-welterweight contest)
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