Boxing
Katie Taylor looks past Miriam Gutierrez to Amanda Serrano, Terri Harper and Cris Cyborg fights
Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor has said she would love to fight Amanda Serrano in her next fight after she takes on Miriam Gutierrez this weekend.
Taylor and Gutierrez fight as part of a card with three women’s world titles on the line, and the Irish boxer believes she has made the most of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown in training.
Taylor said she had “just been trying to improve," when speaking on the Ak & Barak Show.
“I turned it into a positive for myself. It’s been a crazy year but thankfully life hasn’t changed too much for me.”
There have been suggestions that Gutierrez is a relatively untested opponent to be facing someone of Taylor’s experience, but she played down talk that the Spaniard is an easy mark.
“I think she’s a better boxer than people realize,” she claimed.
“She comes in unbeaten regardless of coming from Spain. She’s the number one contender. She’s a very good fighter and I’m expecting a tough fight.
“I’m prepared to go into the trenches if needs be.”
Cris Cyborg, the Brazilian MMA fighter, has been mentioned as another potential fight for Taylor, a name that she was keen to entertain.
“I’ve seen her name thrown around the last couple of weeks. I get told who I’m fighting for the most part, but if it’s a fight people are interested in then I’m open to it.
“I have a fight to focus on at the weekend, but once that is over I have no problems stepping into the ring. I hope it’s the ring and not the cage!”
However, the name that stirred the most interest was Puerto Rican fighter Serrano, but Taylor questioned how willing the 32-year-old interim featherweight champion is to face her.
“I have the urge to fight her but I’m not sure she has the urge to fight me,” wondered Taylor.
“The fight was scheduled a couple of times and she pulled out a couple of times. I would love to fight Serrano, she’s a several-weight champion, a huge fighter, a fighter everyone knows, and it would be a fight everyone would be very excited about.”
Another potential rival is Terri Harper, with Taylor recognizing her potential as an emerging fighter.
“Terri Harper is the most improved fighter of the last few years and she’s only 23, still going to improve.
“She has a great attitude, she gets involved in the big fights. That’s definitely a possible fight. That would be a huge fight over here in the UK.
“I walk around 142lbs. I guess 147 would be the maximum I could fight at.”
