Katie Taylor: Delfine Persoon fight will be toughest of my career so far

Katie Taylor, a former Olympic gold medalist, celebrated amateur, and national hero in Ireland, has already won three lightweight world titles in her pro career, and on June 1, she looks to become undisputed champion.

Taylor, who has the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts, will take on long-reigning WBC titleholder Delfine Persoon on the Joshua-Ruiz card at Madison Square Garden, streaming live on DAZN.

“It’s great to have the opportunity to have the chance to become the undisputed champion,” said Taylor. “Every day in camp has been 100 percent focused on the task at hand so I won’t sit back and think about it until I’ve actually achieved it as that’s what I am like.

“The chance to fight for the four world titles and the Ring Magazine belt at the mecca of boxing, MSG, I don’t think you could write a better script, it’s an absolute dream. Persoon is recognised as one of the best in the world pound-for-pound and has been the WBC champ now for over five years so it’s the best against the best. This is huge for women’s boxing.”

Taylor (13-0, 6 KO) rightly figures that Persoon (43-1, 18 KO) will be her toughest test as a pro to date.

“This fight is going to be the toughest of my career so far, Delfine is a fantastic champion, she’s got 43 wins and just one loss, she’s been a long-reigning champion and she’s a fantastic person,” Taylor said. “I know that this is going to be tough and that’s why I’ve trained so hard and had a tough camp as I know that this is so big for me, not just for the immediate success but for my future plans.

“I think it’s going to be a really hard fight. I’ve watched clips of her and she’s very tall and awkward, she punches non-stop for the 10 rounds and I think it’s going to be a very physical fight. It’s a huge challenge but the one that I’ve wanted. She’ll bring the best out of me as I have the utmost respect for her and we’re going to lay it all on the line and may the best girl win. The famous green belt and the Ring Magazine belts being on the line is just amazing.”