‘People that have never boxed a day in their life are saying she was robbed’ – Lydia Des Dolles

“Do you think that rematch is going to happen? I don’t.”

Katie Taylor may want an immediate rematch with Delfine Persoon, and she has already stated that publicly, but Jacqui Hurley is not so sure if the new, undisputed world champion will face the Belgian again any time soon.

On Saturday, at Madison Square Garden, Taylor added Persoon’s WBO title to the other three she has ruthlessly amassed since she made her first strides in the professional game.

Taylor became the undisputed champ on the back of a split decision that proved somewhat controversial. The Bray native won out 96-94 on two of the three judges’ scorecards while the third felt it was a drawn bout.

Persoon feels she deserved the win but Taylor is the one that now holds all the belts. Her team – the mighty Matchroom – were already calling most of the shots and this result only strengthens their position.

On the latest episode of PlayXPlay, host Jenny Murphy was joined by Jacqui Hurley and Lydia Des Dolles to discuss that Taylor result and what is next for both fighters.

Des Dolles, from Fight Connect TV, believes a draw would have been a fair result but is not impressed with so-called boxing experts claiming Taylor’s victory was a robbery.

“I don’t think Katie has faced someone like Persoon before, but a lot of the people that are on Twitter and who are now boxing experts that have probably never boxed a day in their life, or put a foot inside a gym, are now saying she (Persoon) was robbed. She wasn’t robbed. It was very, very close.

“And, look, they’ve both called for a rematch so we’ll see how it goes. I think people were shocked that she had never faced anyone that was that heavy-handed before, and who was that in her face.

“She didn’t back off at all and didn’t give her any space. All those combinations that Katie would have used prior – jab, jab, slip, body, head – she was landing them and they didn’t do that much damage to Persoon.”

Des Dolles is correct when she notes that both Taylor and Persoon have publicly stated that they would be up for a rematch. Hurley, who also called it a draw, is not so sure if it will happen.

“Do you think that rematch is going to happen? I don’t.

“It’s not going to happen any time soon and I’ll tell you why. I’ve seen a little bit of social commentary about, like, ‘Katie’s good and she’s a good and virtuous person’ and ‘Katie would want to do the right thing’. That is absolutely true and that is the Katie that we all know.

“But Brian Peters and Eddie Hearn are businessmen, and they are going to realise that this is a cash cow they have right now. This is the undisputed champion of the world. This is the greatest boxer in the world right now, in a female sense. And they have got to push her out there and make a business out of it.”

“She’s probably going to have a few fights here (in Ireland) and another few in Madison Square Garden,” Hurley added. “She’ll get on another few undercards there. She might fight Amanda Serrano or Cecilia Braekhus. If (Persoon) wants a rematch, she’ll have to get in line.”

Subscribe here or watch the discussion on Taylor below.

PLAY X PLAY (Episode 6)