Unified lightweight world champion Katie Taylor has said she would “absolutely love” a rematch with Delfine Persoon after the Belgian admitted she will appeal her controversial defeat to the Irish fighter.
Taylor (14-0, 6 KOs) was awarded a majority decision over Persoon (43-2, 18 KOs) after the pair’s intense brawl at Madison Square Garden Saturday.
Persoon was left angry at the decision and has since said she will appeal, arguing she did not lose the fight. One judge called it a draw and the other two ruled in favour of Taylor 96-94 contrary to ESPN’s scorecard which favoured Persoon by the same narrow margin.
“The rematch is definitely inevitable,” Taylor told reporters as she returned home. “I think it’s going to be a great rivalry in the future. It’s a fight that people would like to see again and I think it was the fight of the night. Everyone’s talking about the fight, it was so close, and I would absolutely love a rematch.
“It was a very, very close fight. She was a great champion and that’s what happens when the best fight the best.It was an absolute battle but thankfully I came out victorious.”
Persoon had held the WBC title for nearly five years but Taylor managed to reach what she described as “the pinnacle” of the sport after 10 rounds of spellbinding boxing on the undercard of Antony Joshua’s shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr.
Persoon earlier told Belgian broadcaster SudPresse she would prepare an official appeal against her defeat but admitted she had little hope of success.
“In my eyes it’s not a defeat,” Persoon, 34, said. “We will now of course make a complaint, but without much hope because the weight of Belgian boxing is not great in these instances.
“With my coach we will also calmly analyse this fight sequence by sequence, to have all the arguments to present an unarguable case.”
Taylor — a former Olympic gold medallist — said she was comfortable about the result as she returned to a heroes welcome at Dublin Airport.
“I don’t think I had any doubts (over the result),” she said. “(Manager) Brian Peters knew and (trainer) Ross Enamait knew that I had it from early on in the fight.
“I think I racked up some of the earlier rounds. That’s what happens in close fights. A few people had it her way, a few people had it my way — that’s what makes a brilliant fight.”