Katie Taylor could finally be in line for the huge fight she has craved for years after she retained her undisputed world lightweight title with another comfortable points decision, this time over Kazakhstan’s Firuza Sharipova in Liverpool.
“We are ready for a big 2022,” Taylor said. It was her third win of the year, and leaves her in the familiar position of hoping the new year brings a suitably big fight.
There has been talk, for at least two years, of her boxing Amanda Serrano, the multiple world champion from Puerto Rico, and her promoter Eddie Hearn said that that fight is “almost set” for Madison Square Garden, New York, in April — providing Taylor beat Sharipova and Serrano beats Miriam Gutierrez, a former opponent of Taylor, next week in Florida.
“It’s the biggest fight in the history of women’s boxing,” Hearn said.
Sharipova had been put forward by the WBA as a mandatory opponent, and while the 27-year-old Kazakh had a decent enough record of one defeat in 15 fights, there was a distinct lack of notable names on it. Neither did she have anything like Taylor’s amateur credentials.
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“The kind of moments you can slip up,” Hearn had said before Taylor’s ring walk, revealing he was feeling nerves, but there was never any real doubt that Taylor would deliver what she needed to.
The fear with Taylor, regardless, is that at 35 she could have passed her peak. It is an accusation she has faced for years, and she was said by some to be in decline when she failed to retain her Olympic title in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The five years since then have put those predictions in their place, although the more Taylor has helped raise the standard of female professional boxing, the higher the standard of opposition has become. For the moment she remains a step ahead.
Sharipova tried to get through with her jab early on, but she was made to look somewhat ponderous when her shots fell short and were countered by Taylor’s quick flurries.
After a couple of rounds at distance, Taylor went after Sharipova at the start of the third, landing a big left and then rocking Sharipova back on her heals as Taylor landed a stiff jab. The Kazakh did better at the start of the fourth as she tried to walk Taylor into a big right hook and, when Taylor landed a big right, Sharipova responded with one of her own.
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When Taylor worked from distance, she did well, and she landed a big right in the fifth, when she was also bothered by damage around her right eye. Sharipova was also deducted a point in the sixth round for hitting on the break.
The longer the fight went, the more Sharipova seemed to tire, and so the action got messy, although she clipped Taylor with two sharp rights at the end of the seventh round. Indeed, the snap went out of Taylor’s work in the eighth, when she was often out of range, although she was more dominant in the ninth when a right hand forced Sharipova to look to hold, and she walked the Kazakh into a number of good rights.
Sharipova put all of her energy into the final round, but as she left herself open Taylor landed two big left hooks. All three ringside judges sided with Taylor. Marcus McDonnell scored her a 98-92 winner; Jean-Robert Laine had it 97-92, and Pawel Kardyni 96-93.
“Everyone else thought it was going to be an easy fight but we were well aware of the challenge and prepared for a tough fight,” Taylor said. “She was scrappy inside and we were prepared for everything that came our way.
“Overall it was my 20th fight; 20 wins, still undisputed, still undefeated, so I can’t complain.”
