What next for Katie Taylor?
Ever since her monumental victory against Amanda Serrano, filling the iconic Madison Square Garden venue in New York City and boosting the profile of women’s boxing, Katie Taylor and promotor Eddie Hearn have been trying to plan their next showpiece event. Several names have been touted amongst the potential opponents, although locking down a rival is proving to be somewhat difficult.
Struggle to find suitable opponents
Now that any potential rematch against Serrano is firmly off the cards for this year, the biggest issue will undoubtedly be finding a suitable opponent for Taylor to face, someone up to the task of providing the Bray Bomber with a genuine challenge in the ring. Simply put, Katie has beaten the best professional fighters women’s boxing currently has to offer, which significantly reduces the number of valid options available.
Indeed, there is just one potential rival with an unbeaten record who rates highly, ranked amongst the top five pound-for-pound women’s boxers in the world, which is Estelle Mossely of France. As always in boxing, a good narrative and story is always helpful whenever promoting any matchup, which Mossely can actually provide, as one the last fighters to defeat Taylor at any level in the sport. This was at the 2016 World Championships in Astana at amateur level, when Mossely went on to win the gold medal, after beating Taylor in the semi-finals via a controversial split decision.
Thinking towards a potential meeting later this year, Taylor and her team is reportedly in talks to fight old rival Mossely according to the Irish Mirror, which might become an appealing opportunity for both fighters if anything comes of those negotiations. Undisputed lightweight champion Taylor would get to put her titles on the line, against an opponent who is also currently undefeated. Mossely has won all 10 of her professional fights to date, along with being holder of the lesser considered IBO female lightweight title.
One thing seems to be non-negotiable for Taylor and that is the venue, due to her desire for the next fight to be on home soil, with Croke Park already the primary choice of host stadium. But one potential rival who appears to be keen is women’s MMA superstar Cris Cyborg, who is apparently eager to make the switch to professional boxing. The 36-year-old Brazilian-American is also looking towards Hearn being her promotor, which could set up a blockbuster bout in Ireland later this year.
Untouchable professional boxing record
Without any shadow of doubt, what Katie Taylor has managed to achieve as a professional boxer is truly outstanding. Thus far, nobody has been able to match her untouchable record in the ring, extended to 21 wins and zero losses after defeating Amanda Serrano in April this year. This includes 6 victories by knockout and 15 via judges decision, which has earned Taylor all four main lightweight belts (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) and The Ring female lightweight title.
Just as importantly, the achievements of Taylor has created increased interest in the women’s professional boxing scene, as evidenced by the sell-out crowd against Serrano at Madison Square Garden. The iconic New York City venue has hosted some amazing sporting events over the years, yet many fans believe the atmosphere for that bout was truly exceptional, unlike anything previously experienced in women’s boxing.
Although men’s boxing has typically dominated betting markets, many of the leading bookmakers are now paying extra attention to professional women’s bouts, due to the rapidly growing interest. Providing punters with a wealth of information and in-depth guides, Arabian Betting has listed the best betting sites available, based upon expert reviews for all the most popular sports.
Taylor is the outstanding talent in women’s professional boxing worldwide, so that inevitably means that each of her fights will attract plenty of international attention, proud of her accomplishments and what they mean for her enthusiastic fans back home. But one interesting fact is that so far during her professional career, Taylor hasn’t fought any of her bouts in Ireland. Whoever she ends up fighting next, doing so in Ireland must be the focus of her priority looking ahead.
