Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
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As the women’s undisputed lightweight champion, Ireland’s Katie Taylor is constantly linked with dream bouts against elite fighters not just in her weight class but in neighboring divisions and even other sports.
During her preparations for the mandatory title defense against Miriam Gutierrez on Saturday in London, Taylor sat down to talk boxing with DAZN’s Chris Mannix.
While she remains focused on the task at hand, Mannix encouraged her to play along with a game asking her to rate potential future opponents on a 1-10 scale, with 10 meaning she would absolutely love the matchup and 1 meaning she’s not interested.
The first name offered by Mannix came from outside boxing altogether: MMA star Cris Cyborg.
“That’s a 10,” said Taylor (16-0, 6 KOs). “Whatever name you put out there, I’m very happy to fight. Obviously [Cris] is one of the biggest names in MMA. It’d probably have to be at a catchweight, and I hope the fight isn’t going to happen in a cage and it is going to happen in the ring.
“But it’s something I’m very interested in doing.”
Cyborg, who has also competed in grappling and Muay Thai in the past, was granted a boxing license in California in 2017 and has stated her interest in crossing over to take on Taylor.
The Olympic gold medalist also told Mannix that undisputed welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs) and the woman McCaskill dethroned in August, Cecila Braekhus (36-1, 9 KOs), score a 10 on her interest-level rating, though a title rematch between her two rivals is likely to come first.
“I obviously fought McCaskill a few years ago,” said Taylor of her Dec. 13, 2017 win over the new welterweight champ, though McCaskill would be a different proposition if they meet again as she has improved.
“Braekhus has been the number one for a few years now. Both of those are fantastic, and I’d be happy to fight either of those girls.”
Mannix continued to roll on with big and seemingly unlikely bouts, next offering undefeated middleweight champion Claressa Shields (10-0, 2 KOs).
This received another enthusiastic “10” from Taylor, though she admitted it may be one of the most difficult to make happen.
“I think that’s a dream fight for everyone, isn’t it? she said. “A lot of people have her as number one pound-for-pound, so it’s a fight everyone dreams about.
“It’d have to be some sort of catchweight as well, because I walk around at 140 pounds and I definitely couldn’t go heavier than 147 pounds, but I’d be open to fighting at 147.”
Lastly, Taylor reiterated her desire to have at least one of these mouth-watering bouts in her native Ireland before she retires.
“It’d be an awful shame if I went my whole career without fighting in Ireland at some stage,” she said. “My fights have mostly been in the U.K. so far, but to have a fight in a packed stadium in Ireland at some point would be a dream.
“I want to be in the big fights, I want to be an active fighter, and I want to be in fights the fans want to see.”
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