Boxing
Eddie Hearn says Katie Taylor will fight in late April, possibly against Natasha Jonas
Katie Taylor has said time and time again that she wants the biggest fights on offer, not just from the lightweight division she reigns as undisputed champion but other weight classes and even outside boxing entirely.
And it looks as though her promoter Eddie Hearn has a big 2021 planned for the Irish superstar, if all goes to plan.
Taylor returned from the initial COVID-19 lockdown to put an end to her thrilling rivalry with Belgium's Delfine Persoon, winning their rematch via unanimous decision at Fight Camp, held in Hearn's back garden in August.
The 34-year-old holder then defended her WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight straps against Miriam Gutierrez in November at Wembley's SSE Arena, spoiling the Spaniard mandatory challenger's unblemished record with another commanding 10-round performance.
Hearn confirmed to Sky Sports when she will be back in action, and revealed his intentions to make every fight this year a big one for her.
"You will see her out at the end of April," Hearn confirmed. "She wants challenges, the big fights. Natasha Jonas, we have talked about. I love that fight.
"We are doing the Jessica McCaskill vs Cecilia Braekhus rematch in early-March and I think you will see Katie fight the winner in the summer."
McCaskill shocked Braekhus in Tulsa, one week prior to Taylor's successful rematch vs. Persoon, to claim the undisputed women's welterweight championship and hand the dominant Norwegian her first defeat.
The rematch will be a huge event once the date and venue are confirmed for certain, but a summer fight for the winner against Taylor could see a colossal 10 recognised major world titles carried to the ring.
Indeed, a battle between two undisputed divisional world champions would be the next step in pushing the women's professional boxing scene to another level, and it would be fitting that two of the three women pivotal in its rise over the last five years would be facing off in that megafight.
McCaskill has actually battled Taylor before, losing a 10-round unanimous decision at London's York Hall in 2017. However that was very early in both fighters' professional journeys, and the American would relish a high-profile shot at redemption if she can repeat her feat vs. Braekhus first.
"I would love the Taylor rematch and a chance to get my revenge," she said in a previous interview.
"Katie said that people were scared to fight her and of course, we weren't, we took it and we learned that we were at that level."
