Katie Taylor accepts mandatory defence against Spaniard Miriam Gutierrez next
Undisputed World female lightweight champion Katie Taylor (16-0, 6KOs) will follow up her unanimous decision victory over Delfine Persoon, with a mandatory defence against undefeated Miriam Gutierrez (13-0, 5KOs) in a stand-alone Matchroom card in November, Eddie Hearn has stated.
The Irish superstar was initially linked with a rematch fight with Jessica McCaskill, but hopes were dashed after Cecilia Braekhus activated her rematch clause after losing her belts earlier in the year. Taylor and McCaskill met for the WBA World lightweight title in December 2017, in what was Taylor's eight pro contest and maiden defence of the WBA World title she won against Anahi Ester Sanchez in the preceding fight.
37-year-old Gutierrez is mandatory for the WBA lightweight belt as she holds the interim belt, which she won via unanimous decision in her last fight against Karen Batiz in November 2019. The Madrid native is preparing to compete with Taylor before the end of the year, with the card scheduled for November 14, featuring two other world title fights.
Eddie Hearn highlighted the achievement of the Irish fighter as well as revealing her immediate fight plan in an interview with Boxing Social: “Katie Taylor has to fight her WBA mandatory next, which is [Miriam] Gutierrez, that will be on a stand-alone card in November that will be announced shortly, that card will have three world title fights on it in total.
“I spoke to Katie Taylor about an all-women’s card. I thought that was a really good idea. Katie Taylor looked at me like she wanted to punch me when I said that. When I started thinking about it I understand what’s she’s saying.
“What they’re fighting for, away from the world championship, is equality. It’s not women’s boxing and men’s boxing – it’s boxing.
“So actually, when I started thinking about it, listening to what she said, I realised that a women’s only card is detrimental, in my opinion, to the growth of what we’re trying to do.”
Gutierrez previously spoke of her desire to make the fight happen, and also confirmed her admiration for her future opponent for her role in increasing the popularity of women's boxing.
The 37-year-old Spaniard said: “I would like to fight against the greatest, which is Katie Taylor. I would like that very much because she is world class. She has been in London, Brazil and at the Olympics and now she’s become a pro. She has a lot of titles and she is a world champion.
“In women's competition my favourite fighter is Katie Taylor, that is why I really want to fight her.”
The contest looks set to be in the UK once again, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
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