Tag: cecilia braekhus

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.

Jessica McCaskill and Cecilia Braekhus could be headed toward a rematch.

McCaskill is reportedly is contractually obliged to give Braekhus a second fight after defeating her by a majority decision to become undisputed welterweight champ Saturday in Tulsa, Okla. And her promoter, Eddie Hearn, said he was told by Braekhus’ advisor that she interested in another shot at McCaskill.

Hearn said on a virtual news conference to promote the Katie Taylor-Delfine Persoon rematch this Saturday in England that McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs) and Braekhus (36-1, 9 KOs) could do it again before the end of the year.

Hearn believes Braekhus earned another opportunity in a close fight. McCaskill won 97-94, 97-93 and 95-95.

“I thought it was a very tight fight,” Hearn said. “You know, I think it depends what you like. I thought the crisper punching came from Braekhus in that fight. But as always, the work rate came from Jessica McCaskill. She’s absolutely relentless, and I think you can definitely argue she deserved the victory.

“So, it was a big shock, I think, to the wider audience. I think to people in boxing that know both fighters, you know, Cecilia was the favorite. But Jessica was certainly not out of the race there.”

McCaskill could also end up fighting the winner of the Taylor-Delfine fight, as was the plan before he upset Braekhus.

“You know, there’s so much on the line for Katie on Saturday, as a team we haven’t talked too much about what’s next,” Hearn said. “The focus is on winning on Saturday, and making sure she remains the undisputed [lightweight] champion.

“Because you saw last Saturday everybody talking about Braekhus against Taylor, and all of a sudden, the wheels came off. So, it’s very important to stay focused on the task at hand this weekend.”

Jessica McCaskill and Cecilia Braekhus could be headed toward a rematch.

McCaskill is reportedly is contractually obliged to give Braekhus a second fight after defeating her by a majority decision to become undisputed welterweight champ Saturday in Tulsa, Okla. And her promoter, Eddie Hearn, said he was told by Braekhus’ advisor that she interested in another shot at McCaskill.

Hearn said on a virtual news conference to promote the Katie Taylor-Delfine Persoon rematch this Saturday in England that McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs) and Braekhus (36-1, 9 KOs) could do it again before the end of the year.

Hearn believes Braekhus earned another opportunity in a close fight. McCaskill won 97-94, 97-93 and 95-95.

“I thought it was a very tight fight,” Hearn said. “You know, I think it depends what you like. I thought the crisper punching came from Braekhus in that fight. But as always, the work rate came from Jessica McCaskill. She’s absolutely relentless, and I think you can definitely argue she deserved the victory.

“So, it was a big shock, I think, to the wider audience. I think to people in boxing that know both fighters, you know, Cecilia was the favorite. But Jessica was certainly not out of the race there.”

McCaskill could also end up fighting the winner of the Taylor-Delfine fight, as was the plan before he upset Braekhus.

“You know, there’s so much on the line for Katie on Saturday, as a team we haven’t talked too much about what’s next,” Hearn said. “The focus is on winning on Saturday, and making sure she remains the undisputed [lightweight] champion.

“Because you saw last Saturday everybody talking about Braekhus against Taylor, and all of a sudden, the wheels came off. So, it’s very important to stay focused on the task at hand this weekend.”