Eddie Hearn predicts breakthrough for Katie Taylor – and move up in weight
Ten fights in and we’re about to hit the big time.
Katie Taylor [10(5)-0] defended her WBA and IBF lightweight titles at the weekend in London, outgunning American challenger Kimberly Connor at the O2 Arena.
While it was a genuine world title fight with a mandatory challenger, Taylor’s team admitted there was a ‘keep-busy’ element to the fight on the Dillian Whyte v Joseph Parker undercard and there is a real feeling that the Wicklow woman is set to move to the next level.
With two world titles in the bag – won against comparatively low-profile Argentinians Anahi Ester Sanchez and Victoria Noelia Bustos – Taylor will next embark on her first fight with a ‘big name’ opponent.
This will come on October 6th in Chicago against Puerto Rican Cindy Serrano [27(10)-5(0)-3].
The fight with the recent WBO featherweight champion managed by Lou DiBella will play out at a to-be-confirmed venue and will be the first Matchroom USA DAZN bill – the OTT streaming service which many are tipping to revolutionise sports broadcasting.
Serrano could be the first of a number of high-profile names, a list that includes the likes of Chantelle Cameron, Natasha Jonas, Mikaela Mayer, Amanda Serrano, Heather Hardy, Holly Holm, along with unifications with current lightweight champs Rose Volante and Delfine Persoon.
Taylor’s promoter, Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn, outlined how “it’s onwards and upwards from here, she can be as big as she wants to be.”
“She’s one of the biggest names in world boxing.”
“She’s fighting in the US next. She should be a worldwide star,” he added before hinting at a future move up in weight – with a catchweight bout with undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Brækhus [34(9)-0] of Norway being on the radar.
Hearn noted how “eventually we’re going to have to move up weights to find some real competition.”
36-year-old Braekus, born in Colombia but raised in Scandinavia, recently defended her titles versus Inna Sagaaydakovskaya on the undercard of the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight final in Moscow.
This came after she became the first female fighter to feature on a HBO broadcast back in May and she will return to the network in September as part of the Gennady Golovkin v Canelo Alvarez middleweight title rematch in Las Vegas.
