Katie Taylor left little doubt this time.
The undisputed lightweight champion withstood the relentless pressure of Delfine Persoon to win their rematch by a unanimous decision on the Dillian Whyte-Alexander Povetkin card Saturday in Brentwood, England.
Taylor won a disputed majority decision in their first fight, in June of last year. On Saturday, the Irishwoman won 98-93, 96-94 and 96-94, and no one complained. Boxing Junkie scored it 97-93 for Taylor.
Persoon (44-3, 18 KOs) fought her typical fight, attacking every moment of every round. Taylor (16-0, 6 KOs) had difficulty coping last year. This time, she used poise, quick feet and sharp counterpunches to largely neutralize her Belgian rival.
That doesn’t mean Persoon had no success. The former titleholder missed most of her punches but plenty got through, which accounts for the rounds she won. And she forced Taylor into more toe-to-toe exchanges than she would’ve liked.
Persoon had her most success in the second half of the fight, when the pressure wore down Taylor to some degree.
However, Taylor, the better boxer and athlete, was an elusive target. She moved her head to avoid many of Persoon’s shots and used her feet to spin or dance out of trouble time and again. Meanwhile, she punched more accurately than Persoon, which obviously impressed the judges.
What’s next for Taylor? She could fight Jessica McCaskill, who upset Cecilia Braekhus last week. There is also a chance that McCaskill and Braekhus will fight a second time.
In preliminary bouts, welterweight prospect Chris Kongo (12-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Luther Clay (13-2, 5 KOs) at 2:44 of the ninth-round of a scheduled 10-round bout.
Jack Cullen (18-2-1, 9 KOs) and Zak Chelli (7-1-1, 3 KOs) fought to a split draw in a 10-round super middleweight bout.
And Alen Babic (4-0, 4 KOs) stopped Shawndell Terell Winters (13-4, 12 KOs)at 2:20 of the second round of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight fight.