KATIE TAYLOR finally settled the score with Delfine Persoon in another sensational fight for women’s boxing.
The undisputed lightweight queen was haunted by a year of questions about her controversial June New York points win over the Belgian police inspector.
But she put the brilliant rivalry and any doubts about the place at the very top of the sport to bed with a more clinical performance that brought that steaming Madison Square Garden night back to blustery Brentwood.
After 10 two-minute rounds of 35-year-old Persoon hurling bombs and Taylor, 34, showing all of her Olympic pedigree with backfoot point scoring, the judges scored it 96-94 twice and 98-93.
The Wicklow warrior said: “”It’s never easy against Delfine, she is relentless.
“I knew I had to dig deep.I boxed better than last time. I stuck to my boxing more. That got me through.
“I hit her with clean shots but she attacked all the time. What an amazing two fights for women’s boxing.
“I was more convincing tonight. I got a convincing win.”
Persoon bundled forward as soon as the bell started the show, just as she did in America last summer.
But Taylor clipped her with an early left-hook counter and the Belgian stumbled back into the ropes.
Taylor’s early tactics were perfect, she was happy to step back and let Persoon walk on to heavy shots.
One-twos, straight right hands and a body shot all scored as the Irish icon made her nemesis miss repeatedly with her celebrated amateur footwork.
By the third, Persoon’s right cheekbone was a mess of torn flesh and bruising but Taylor was getting dragged deeper into a slugfest after such a clinical one-sided start.
Bray legend Taylor showed more glimpses of her 2012 Olympic gold winning skill in the fourth but Persoon was again so brutish and unrefined that Taylor seemed once again befuddled by her tornado tactics.
In the fifth Taylor had her family whooping for her expert precision punching but for every couple of point-scoring shots she landed, Persoon walloped her with a whack straight off the cobbles.
Taylor broke down in the second half of the Madison Square Garden showdown and she was showing similar signs of fatigue in the Brentwood garden as Persoon manhandled her again.
Taylor dipped to the deck twice in the eighth out of sheer exhaustion and she was chinned heavily but brilliantly shrugged it off.
Taylor’s ninth round head movement was excellent and her clever combinations were not cancelled out by ungainly but damaging haymakers from Persoon.
The sensational encounterer finished with both brilliant women barely able to breathe, hurling their hands and cemented at the top of the sport.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.sportingexcitement.com/boxing/dillian-whyte-stunned-by-alexander-povetkin-as-russian-gets-up-from-canvas-to-land-huge-ko
