Katie Taylor on her history-making fight inside MSG: “It’s an absolute dream”

Since Madison Square Garden was brought to life (not to mention moved and renovated many times), there have been plenty of moments to remember thanks to the boxing world. From Muhammed Ali v. Joe Frazier all the way to Bernard Hopkins v. Felix Trinidad, MSG was built for moments that will last a lifetime.

For Katie Taylor, she is hoping to make another memorable moment in “The Mecca” when she faces Delfine Persoon on June 1st. Her end goal? To be undisputed Lightweight Champion.

While she hasn’t been competing in a boxing ring for many years, Taylor (13-0) has plenty of experience. The multi-time gold medalist has helped change the way women’s boxing is viewed, winning the WBA, IBF and WBO Lightweight Titles in the process. She will defend her titles against Persoon (43-1), who is the current WBC Lightweight Champion.

“The chance to fight for the four World titles and the Ring Magazine belt at the Mecca of boxing, MSG, I don’t think you could write a better script, it’s an absolute dream,” Taylor stated to Matchroom. “Persoon is recognized as one of the best in the world pound-for-pound and has been the WBC champ now for over five years so it’s the best against the best. This is huge for women’s boxing.”

As Taylor has gotten much more polished since her pro debut in 2016, the names of the opponents she’s beaten have gotten bigger. In her ninth pro fight, Taylor beat Victoria Bustos for the IBF Lightweight Title. That was in April of 2018 inside the Barclays Center. She fought three more times in 2018, beating Cindy Serrano, Kimberly Connor and Eva Wahlstrom.

Her last two wins were against established fighters in Wahlstrom (22-1-1) and Rose Volante (14-1), the latter of which was for the WBO Lightweight Title. When they faced off against her, the fight wasn’t what we all expected. Taylor’s fights have often turned into one-sided affairs, as Taylor’s speed and power is something else.

Taylor doesn’t have an ego when it comes to these fights, and that is especially true when it comes to the powerful Persoon.

“This fight is going to be the toughest of my career so far, Delfine is a fantastic champion, she’s got 43 wins and just one loss, she’s been a long-reigning champion and she’s a fantastic person,” Taylor went on to say. “I know that this is going to be tough and that’s why I’ve trained so hard and had a tough camp as I know that this is so big for me, not just for the immediate success but for my future plans.”

Making her United States debut, Persoon has 18 career knockout wins. Taylor has six in her young career and is only getting stronger. If everything goes according to plan, we could see a true slugfest.

The road to undisputed begins. Claressa Shields beat Christina Hammer to become the Queen of the Middleweights. Will Taylor follow her lead?