Taylor vs Volante results: Katie Taylor dominates Rose Volante, wins another title

Irish superstar Katie Taylor picked up another world title at 135 pounds tonight, adding to her collection by lifting the WBO belt from Brazil’s Rose Volante via ninth round stoppage in Philadelphia.

Taylor (13-0, 6 KO) now has the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles, and says she’s targeting the final piece of the puzzle — Delfine Persoon’s WBC title — next.

Taylor dropped Volante (14-1, 8 KO) in the first round on a short right hand, with the heads also coming together a bit just after the punch connected. The heads clashing would wind up being a real story in the fight, as Volante did her best to use aggression to overcome Taylor’s large advantage in skill.

And the finish of the fight was also head clash-based, as Volante crushed her nose on the top of Taylor’s skull in the ninth round. When Volante popped up bleeding badly from a cut on the bridge of the nose, referee Benjy Esteves Jr decided to stop the fight. You can question the timing, as Volante was still fighting and it’s not like that specific damage was caused by a punch, but Volante also hadn’t won a round or anything, and the fight had gotten really one-sided.

Taylor, as previously promised, is now angling for a fight with Belgium’s Persoon (43-1, 18 KO), an opponent who might actually present the well-schooled Taylor with a real challenge as a professional.

“Now we can start talking about Delfine Persoon. I’ve got the three belts, she’s got the WBC belt. We have to get that fight on next,” Taylor said after the win.

If the Taylor-Persoon fight comes together as previously reported and rumored, it would feature on the Joshua-Miller undercard on June 1 at Madison Square Garden, but that’s far from official.

Punch stats for the fight were pretty lopsided, especially when you look at the accuracy. Taylor landed 149 of 374 (40%) total punches, and a crisp 142 of 276 (51%) of her power shots. Volante landed 91 of 419 (22%) total punches, and 78 of 308 (25%) power shots.