Katie Taylor is well aware of the big fight she still has to get through, yet can’t help but wonder where a win will lead her already stellar career.
The reigning undisputed lightweight queen is waiting on a new fight date for her pound-for-pound showdown with record-setting seven division titlist Amanda Serrano (38-1-1, 28KOs). The two were due to collide on May 2, but with the entire show—headlined by interim heavyweight titlist Dillian Whyte versus Russia’s Alexander Povetkin—postponed to a tentative date of July 4 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
Also on hold is a clash between long-reigning undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus (36-0, 9KOs) and unified 140-pound titlist Jessica McCaskill (8-2, 3KOs), with the two due to collide at a 145-pound catchweight.
Wins by Taylor and Braekhus could very well set up a massive fight down the road. For now, everyone just needs to get back in the ring and win the current fights they’re assigned.
“I obviously want to be involved in the biggest fights,” Ireland’s Taylor (15-0, 6KOs) stated during an interview on Hearn’s Instagram Live feed. “I obviously don’t look past Serrano right now. It’s a big mistake when fighters are looking past their opponents. But if I do come through versus Serrano, the fight with Braekhus is a history making fight. Undisputed champion against undisputed champion. Has that even happened before? I don’t think it has.”
It will be a first for women’s boxing, which has now claimed three undisputed champions in recent years—Braekhus at welterweight, Taylor at lightweight, and American superstar Claressa Shields (10-0, 2KOs) at middleweight, while also having won titles at 168- and 154-pounds.
Hurdles remain, however, as the two-division gap between Taylor could be problematic. Taylor’s last fight—a 10-round win over reigning 140-pound titlist Christina Linardatou—marked her first time fighting above lightweight and by her own admission was filled out at the weight. She has since abandoned her 140-pound title, as her superstar showdown versus Brooklyn-based Boricua southpaw Serrano will come at the lightweight limit.
Braekhus has fought at welterweight dating back to her first title win in 2009, having not weighed less than 145 pounds in more than five years. Her showdown versus Chicago’s McCaskill will take place at a 145-pound catchweight, with the hope that—with wins by both—the unbeaten welterweight queen is willing to drop down a little bit more.
“We can make a catchweight, obviously,” insists Taylor. “I am assuming 142. I can’t really go above 142 much. I walk around at 142 or 143 at most.
“We can definitely do a catchweight around that, it would make a super fight.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
