By: Hans Themistode
One of the very best women boxers in the world will return to the ring on November 2nd, at the O2 arena, in Manchester, England. She’ll be at the top of the billing on a card that will feature Joshua Buatsi, Anthony Crolla and a host of others.
The last time Taylor was seen in the ring, she was winning a hard fought but controversial decision against Delfine Persoon. It was a rougher than expected contest as Persoon had every reason to believe that she had done enough to win that contest.
Persoon successfully roughed Taylor up throughout the contest and made it as ugly as possible. Taylor seemed to have a difficult time adjusting to the physicality of Persoon. Still, Taylor managed to box her way to a decision.
The win for Taylor gave her the WBC Lightweight title which was the last belt at the weight class, making her an undisputed champion at the weight. Now that she has captured the last piece of the championship puzzle, she is looking for an even bigger challenge as she will be moving up in weight to take on WBO Super Lightweight champion Christina Linardatou.
“It’s a new challenge at a new weight and something I’m really excited about,” said Taylor. “I still feel like I have so much left to achieve in the sport and becoming a two-weight world champion is one of those goals.”
As for her opponent, Linardatou hasn’t lost a contest since 2016. Since then she has won four fights in a row and will be facing the biggest match of her career. Don’t expect the pressure of the moment to get to Linardatou.
“I plan on leaving England with my title,” said Taylor. “If I need to knock Katie Taylor out in order to retain the title, that’s what I’ll do.”
The move up in weight will have many fearing that a future contest against seven division champion Amanda Serrano is now unlikely. Taylor assured everyone that her plan isn’t to simply campaign at Super Lightweight.
“There are still so many huge fights out there for me like the Amanda Serrano fight, a rematch with Delfine Persoon and a fight with Cecilia Brækhus but the first goal is November 2 and winning another world title. I don’t have any issues making lightweight so I think I can move comfortably between the two weights. I always want to push myself and Christina is an excellent world champion, so it will be a big test for me.”
Taylor and Linardatou seem highly motivated to put on a show but it will be another fighter on the card who will receive most of the attention.
Former champion Anthony Crolla will step into the ring for one final time. It’s been a long and successful 13 year career for Crolla which first started in Manchester England. He has managed to win his fair of big fights including against Ismael Barroso, Ricky Burns and a championship winning effort against Darleys Perez. His career is now coming full circle as it will officially come to an end in the same place that it started 13 years ago.
