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Katie Taylor remains open to Holly Holm or Cris Cyborg superfights

Katie Taylor says she remains open to fighting the likes of Holly Holm or Cris Cyborg.  The two ...



Katie Taylor remains open to H...
Other Sports

Katie Taylor remains open to Holly Holm or Cris Cyborg superfights

Katie Taylor says she remains open to fighting the likes of Holly Holm or Cris Cyborg. 

The two MMA veterans have been spoken about as potential opponents for the reigning, undisputed lightweight boxing champion for some time.

However, Taylor says her focus is solely on a long-awaited encounter with Amanda Serrano next year.

The Bray native defended her undisputed title in Liverpool on Saturday night, beating Firuza Sharipova by unanimous decision.

Next on the agenda for Taylor finally appears to be a meeting with the younger Serrano sister.

Speaking on The MMA Hour, Taylor said 2022 could be the "biggest year in female boxing history".

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist was initially scheduled to face former seven-weight world champion Serrano in May of last year, but the pandemic and other factors put paid to that.

Since then, Serrano has signed with Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, effectively putting the biggest ever women's fight in the hands of the controversial star.

Taylor revealed at the weekend that talks have already taken place about Taylor-Serrano happening in New York in the spring.

"We were at Madison Square Garden a couple of weeks ago," said the Matchroom chief, "They loved the fight.

"Jake Paul, Most Valuable Promotions, those guys loved the fight. It's their chance to be involved in history as well.

"Amanda Serrano fights next week. We wish her the best of luck. They now have the contract; they're reviewing the contract.

"If she gets through her next fight, I'm almost certain that in April we'll see Taylor versus Serrano at Madison Square Garden."

Taylor backed Serrano to see off Miriam Gutierrez in Florida this weekend with minimal fuss, clearing the way for that MSG showdown.

And she said she has no issue with a character like Jake Paul having such an influence over the sport.

Taylor chose her words carefully when asked by Ariel Helwani what she made of Paul, saying, "He's getting into the ring, he is fighting. He obviously picks and chooses his fights but I guess he's bringing a new audience to the sport as well.

"Even if a handful of that new audience turn into boxing fans I guess it is a good thing, but I would love to see him in there with a genuine fighter.

"He's definitely going to be an important person for me if it means that he is going to get this [Serrano] fight over the line so I'm not going to jump in the way and criticise him - he is willing to step into the ring at the end of the day and take punches and put himself on the line as well, so that takes a lot of courage in itself to step into the ring."

Taylor was also asked about potentially facing former boxer-turned-MMA fighter Holly Holm, or Cris Cyborg in the future.

Both have been touted as crossover opponents for the 35-year old. Holm is an ex-three weight world champion in the ring, while Cyborg had just two fights in her limited professional career.

Despite their lengthy absences from boxing, Taylor remains interested in at least the prospect of facing either fighter.

"I know there was mention of those fights," Taylor told Helwani, "But I don't think we ever seriously talked about it.

"Obviously their names came up over the last few years and there's still huge possibilities that those fights can happen.

"I think I'd be very, very open for those fights to happen.

"I just want to be involved in the biggest fights possible, really. I want to get more attention to this sport, I want to be involved in history-making fights.

"If they're the fights that people want to see, I'd absolutely love to be involved."

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Amanda Serrano Ariel Helwani Boxing Cris Cyborg Cyborg Eddie Hearn Holly Holm Jake Paul Katie Taylor