KATIE TAYLOR LOOKED in career-best shape as she weighed in for Saturday night’s defence of her WBA and IBF World lightweight titles in London.
Taylor [9-0, 4KOs] faces American veteran Kimberly Connor [13-3-2] live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday night, when she’ll fight on the undercard of Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker’s heavyweight eliminator at the O2 Arena.
The Bray woman tipped the scales at 9 stone, 8 pounds and 3 ounces (134.2 lbs), well shy of the 135-pound lightweight limit.
Opponent Connor, an unfancied mandatory challenger for Taylor’s IBF strap, came in a full three pounds light at 9 stone 6 (132 lbs).
⚖ @KatieTaylor: 9st 8lbs 3oz
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 27, 2018
Kimberly Connor: 9st 6lbs 0oz
The WBA & IBF World Lightweight Titles are on the line tomorrow ⌛️#TaylorConnor #WhyteParker pic.twitter.com/nimWVDTnHI
Should Taylor successfully defend her world titles as expected, she’ll square off with former featherweight world champion Cindy Serrano [27-5-3, 10KOs] in Chicago in October on what will be promoter Eddie Hearn and Matchroom’s maiden U.S. show as part of their billion-dollar streaming deal with DAZN.
Taylor has stated on numerous occasions that one of her chief intentions as a professional is to fight Serrano’s younger sister, Amanda, Puerto Rico’s only five-weight world champion boxer and an all-time female boxing great.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist’s compatriot, Craig O’Brien of Dublin [8-0, 0KOs], also fights on tomorrow night’s Sky Sports Box Office bill.
One of Irish boxing’s Cinderella stories, the Packie Collins-trained Irish light-middleweight champion faces fancied former British Olympian Anthony Fowler [6-0, 5KOs], with whom he shares a common opponent in fellow Dub Jay Byrne.
The pair’s non-title, eight-round bout was set for two pounds over the light-middleweight limit of 154 pounds, but the inner-city ‘Iron’ came in at a career-low 10 stone, 13 pounds, 8 ounces (153.5 lbs) despite taking the fight on short notice.
Heavy bookies’ favourite Fowler made use of the extra wiggle room, weighing in fractionally over 155 pounds.
The build-up to their scrap has been far more impudent than that of Taylor and Connor; rather fittingly, O’Brien and Fowler continued their heated verbal exchanges into this afternoon’s face-off in London.
⚖@afowler06: 11st 1lbs 1oz@CraigOBrien6: 10st 13lbs 8oz
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 27, 2018
Unbeaten records on the line….#FowlerObrien #WhyteParker pic.twitter.com/Leqhsy2BYK
I’m normally very respectful to my opponents and wish them good luck at weigh in, but sometimes people run their mouths and need to be told, reality will hit him hard tomorrow 🤖 #TeamMachine pic.twitter.com/l1kGgAHk9y
— Anthony Fowler (@afowler06) July 27, 2018
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