"When you watch me box, I hope you just see a boxer, not a female boxer."
The words of Ireland’s golden girl, Katie Taylor, speaking to Ring Magazine ahead of Saturday’s world title unification fight in New York.
And anyone who has had the pleasure to watch the London 2012 gold medallist at full tilt, whether sparring members of the Ireland men’s national team, or fighting for anyone of her five world titles would be under no illusion that Taylor is a boxer of undoubted talent and ability.
Of course, Taylor is also a female boxer and while her own boxing traits and attributes cannot be questioned or queried, those that face the Bray native are rarely, if ever, in the same category or class.
Taylor proved quite the trailblazer for women’s boxing throughout her amateur career and now she is setting the tone for the professional game as she looks to add the IBF lightweight belt to the WBA world title already in her possession.
The 31-year-old is looking to emulate fellow Irish fighters Ryan Burnett and Carl Frampton by becoming the third Irish boxer to accomplish the feat of unifying the division as she takes on Argentinian Victoria Bustos.
Saturday’s world title fight, which takes place on the undercard of Daniel Jacobs’ middleweight clash with Maciej Sulecki at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, is Taylor’s ninth fight in the paid ranks and her second defence of the WBA title.
Taylor won the world belt with a comprehensive points victory over Anahi Sanchez last October before following it up just six weeks later, beating Jessica McCaskill at the iconic York Hall, where the Irishwoman headlined the card.
The eagerness, whether from fighter or promoter Eddie Hearn, to defend the title after such a short turnaround appeared to be a bit of a gamble, and while Taylor eventually accounted for McCaskill in that bruising bout in London, her performance came in for a certain amount of criticism following the fight.
Taylor received a wake-up call in that particular bout, according to former amateur team-mate Eric Donovan, as she was dragged into a bit of a war with her unorthodox and most aggressive American opponent, and had to dig deep to regain control of the explosive encounter midway through the bout as she was rocked by a wild left hook in the sixth round.
The judges’ scorecards handed Taylor a 97-92, 97-92, 98-91 unanimous victory but it was far from an easy night at the office for the champion.
Taylor, of course, would not have found herself in such a scenario too often throughout her illustrious career and will have no intentions of putting herself in such a precarious position again.
Saturday’s opponent Bustos has never fought outside of her home country, however, she has remained busy since securing the IBF title back in 2014.
Bustos’ only defeat in the past four years came when she moved up a weight to challenge for the WBC super lightweight title.
In that bout, Bustos went ten gruelling rounds against the more accomplished Erica Farias but Taylor will surely take heart from watching her opponent in action.
Bustos is strong and sturdy and will look to fight from the centre of the ring, however, she looks a lot more predictable and possesses a traditional style as opposed to the wild-swinging McCaskill.
Taylor will be looking to put on a performance to build momentum across the water in America for both herself and he sport and this unification bout will show the level that women’s boxing is at in terms of quality and marketability.
The unbeaten Bray fighter has left no stone unturned ahead of this bout and has been locked away in camp in a remote part of Connecticut as she continues her quest for total world domination.
Taylor will be anxious to make a name for herself in America and will, of course, be keen to impress in front of the live television cameras once again.
And while Saturday’s opponent is not at the level of boxing as Taylor in relation to movement, quality and ability to throw varying combinations, Bustos will be more than capable of absorbing a lot of pressure, while also capable of putting serious power behind anything that lands.
Taylor will most likely need to use all of the scheduled ten rounds to wear her opponent down and while the Olympic hero would like a stylish knock-out in front of a knowegeable New York crowd, the route to victory against Bustos will be more akin to chopping down a tree, blow by blow by blow.
Trainer Ross Enamait is an advocate of outdoor sledgehammer training, burying tractor tires beneath a combination of ‘dirt, gravel and moderately sized stones’, and with Taylor in peak condition following her high-intensity training camp, such a drill should prove perfect for accounting for Bustos and adding her IBF strap to the ever-growing Taylor treasure chest.
