Katie Taylor: Undisputed lightweight champion to defend belts on 22 August
- Published
Taylor defeated Delfine Persoon at Madison Square Garden in June to claim all four belts
Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor will return to the ring on 22 August as part of promoter Eddie Hearn's 'Matchroom Fight Camp'.
Ireland's Taylor, 33, will put the division's four belts on the line against an unnamed opponent.
The bout will act as chief support for the WBC interim world heavyweight title fight between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin.
Taylor last fought in November with her 2 May bout postponed due to Covid-19.
A highly anticipated meeting with four-weight world champion Amanda Serrano was put on hold, but promoters Matchroom remain hopeful of making the fight, having said last month they would like for it to feature on the same card as the Whyte v Povetkin showdown.
If not Serrano, Taylor could meet Belgian Delfine Persoon in a rematch of their controversial undisputed lightweight title fight last June.
Taylor was awarded that victory in New York via a unanimous points decision, though many onlookers felt the Belgian had done enough to win the contest.
Persoon was left feeling aggrieved after losing to Taylor on points
Be it Serrano or Persoon, Taylor will be hoping to add a 16th professional win to a glittering career.
In November she became a two-weight world champion by outclassing Christina Linardatou in Manchester.
The 22 August card will be the last of four fight nights, held on consecutive weekends in the back garden of Matchroom's headquarters in Brentwood, Essex.
Promoter Hearn, who grew up in the venue known as Mascalls, plans to provide Covid-19 testing and a week-long takeover of a hotel where fighters can self-isolate until they know their test results, while training at a purpose-built gym.