Boxing
Eddie Hearn delivers Katie Taylor career update amid retirement rumours
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Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn anticipates that Katie Taylor will have to cede a portion of her undisputed super lightweight title after pressure from the World Boxing Council (WBC) to face mandatory challenger Chantelle Cameron.
Taylor defended her belts in July, defeating Amanda Serrano for a third time. Following the fight, Taylor suggested that she was contemplating retirement rather than chasing a trilogy bout with Cameron.
Cameron became the first, and currently only, woman to defeat Taylor professionally, taking all four of her super lightweight belts in May 2023. A rematch later that year saw Taylor re-establish herself as undisputed at 140lbs, beating Cameron by majority decision.
However, a potential rubber match will have to wait at least until next year, with Hearn stating that his fighter is not currently preparing to fight before the end of 2025.
Hearn told The Ring: “The issue is time. I don't think Katie's thinking about fighting now and she's not going to fight until next spring at the earliest.
“When you get a purse bid at the end of a negotiation period, the fight's got to happen within 90 days, which is at the moment December 1. We're miles away from fighting on that date at the moment.
“We're going to catch up with (Taylor’s manager) Brian Peters and Katie when we're in Ireland for the Paddy Donovan-Lewis Crocker fight later this month. We will then just decide what we're going to do.”
Taylor’s camp have already secured a three-week extension to the negotiation period at the end of last week, but Hearn believes that ultimately the Irishwoman would be prepared to vacate her WBC strap if she was not ready to fight.
He restarted: “I don't think Katie’s going to be dictated to by a governing body but the problem is if she fights again, I don't see her fighting until next spring, summer.
“So that means based on the current situation she will have to vacate. But she does have some injury niggles from the last fight so perhaps she gets put into recess. I don’t know.”
Cameron’s promoter, Nakisa Biadrian, is keen on a third fight between Taylor and Cameron, but Hearn suggested to his MVP counterpart that Sandy Ryan might make a better opponent.
Ryan is looking to rebuild after two defeats to American Mikaela Mayer, having lost her World Boxing Organisation welterweight title in the process. The Derby-born fighter is in action on the undercard of Pat McCormack’s World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title eliminator against Miguel Parra this Saturday, live on DAZN.
“I said to Nakisa that I think the fight is Chantelle Cameron against Sandy Ryan,” he restarted.
“Because style-wise I just think it’s an absolute thriller. Sandy’s fight in Sunderland is going to be at about 143 pounds so she will be a bit lighter than she was at welterweight.
“I think she would be up for getting down to 140 if it meant a fight with Chantelle.”
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