Speculation has emerged that Irish star Katie Taylor could meet former MMA star Ronda Rousey in her next and possibly final final fight.
Taylor, a two-time Olympian and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, is 25-1 (6 KOs) and the current lineal and unified 140lbs champion. The Irish superstar is sizing up her next opportunity after going 3-0 over Amanda Serrano following her trilogy victory in July.
Taylor is promoted by Matchroom who have a broadcast deal with DAZN, but the 39-year-old’s last two fights have been on Netflix.
Rousey, 38, has been posting some pad work on her socials as talk of a comeback begins to swirl.
Asked about possibly making Taylor-Rousey, Matchroom’s Frank Smith told BoxingScene: “Look, she’s obviously a superstar name in the world of fight sports, and if she came across it would be massive. I haven’t heard anything about her coming across to boxing, but let’s see.”
Rousey recently sported a black eye while a guest on the Bert Kreischer podcast and she didn’t spend time explaining it.
Asked whether she was training now, she said, “Yeah, my youngest baby is nine months… I started training MMA again after this last baby and I’ve never felt better and I’m walking around much lighter which is better for my joints and stuff like that and everything. I’m just weirdly training for fun, which I thought I would never do.”
Rousey quipped that she would fight again for a billion when asked if there was a price point that would bring her back, although to the Octagon
“The power’s in the past,” she joked.
In another interview, on The Breakfast Club, Rousey said she’d felt inspired by Mike Tyson’s boxing return to face Jake Paul on Netflix.
“If I would [comeback] it wouldn’t be in a place where I’m trying to patch up my happiness, in trying to find the antidote for it,” Rousey said. “I think that’s what it was before… Oh, if I get this fight, if I win this then I’ll be happy. It would come from an entirely different space if it came at all.”
Of course, precedents have been set with MMA stars taking on boxers.
Most recently, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou made his pro boxing debut, dropping then heavyweight champion Tyson Fury before losing a decision over 10 rounds. His second pro boxing match ended in a 2nd round knockout to former two-time unified heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua.
It is worth noting, too, that arguably Rousey’s biggest loss in the Octagon came to boxer Holly Holm.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
