Sports

Katie Taylor stops Rose Volante to unify WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight titles


Katie Taylor is one step away from her long-held goal of unifying the fractured lightweight championship after stopping Brazil’s Rose Volante in the ninth round on Friday night in Philadelphia.

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist, who entered with the WBA and IBF titles at 135lbs, added Volante’s WBO strap to her growing haul and immediately targeted Belgium’s Delfine Persoon, the former kickboxer who holds the WBC belt.

Taylor (13-0, 6 KOs) baffled her opponent with blinding combinations and fluid in-and-out movement, dropping Volante in the opening round and never looking back at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University.

The popular Irish champion nearly ended it in the fifth, hurting Volante badly with a punishing left hook before pouring on the punishment only for her opponent to be saved by the bell.

Volante (14-1, 8 KOs) showed great heart but proved no match for Taylor’s pinpoint combinations, which broke her down over the second half of the fight.

It ended in the ninth when what appeared to be an accidental clash of heads opened a large gash on the bridge of Volante’s nose, prompting referee Benjy Esteves to wave off the action.

“I thought it was a great performance,” said Taylor, who landed 142 of 276 power shots (51%) compared to 78 of 308 for Volante (25%). “Rose Volante is a very tough opponent. I knew she was going to come here to fight. I think she got the best out of me here tonight. Tonight we’ve definitely seen a great showcase for women’s boxing.”

She added: “[Volante] definitely had a bit of pop at the end of her punch, but I have a great chin and I can stand there and trade punches with anyone. I also have the power to hurt those girls.”

Afterward Taylor immediately turned her attention to the final piece of the undisputed title.

“Now we can start talking about that fight, Persoon,” said Taylor, “That name’s been coming up over the last two years. I’ve got the three belts, she’s got the WBC belt, so we have to get that fight on next.”



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