Delfine Persoon loses lightweight rematch to Irish boxer
Flemish lightweight boxer Delfine Persoon lost her much-anticipated rematch at the weekend to the now undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor
‘All my respect to Katie’
Persoon (pictured left) lost the original match on a very close points decision, a ruling that many in the game considered unfair. A new fight was eventually scheduled to decide the WBC world lightweight title.
After 10 closely fought rounds on Saturday night, the judges unanimously awarded Taylor victory, making her the undisputed world lightweight champion. She now holds the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles, the four top titles in women’s boxing.
While the fight was again decided on points, Persoon conceded victory to Taylor. “This time I’ll accept the jury’s decision. I have no excuses today. All my respect to Katie, she deserves the win,” said the 35-year-old, who put up a valiant and aggressive display in a fight that saw both women suffer facial injuries. “I think I broke my nose in the second round and it’s not easy to fight eight rounds with a broken nose,” she said.
It’s not easy to fight eight rounds with a broken nose
As expected, Persoon started the first of the 10 two-minute rounds aggressively, bombarding former Olympic champion Taylor. Taylor opted for the counterattack and avoided as many of Persoon’s blows as possible. As the fight went on, Taylor managed to land more accurate blows than her opponent.
The three judges awarded Taylor the win 98-93, 96-94 and 96-94, compared to the 95-95, 96-94 and 96-94 judgement handed out in New York last summer that led to calls for a rematch.
Persoon, who is also an officer with the federal police, has suggested she might now consider switching to the featherweight category. “I had to eat a lot to gain weight, and because of that I was lacking power,” she said. “You need power to get Taylor down, otherwise it will be technical and she cannot be beaten on that.”
The match was part of the Matchroom Fight Camp series, taking place in the grounds of boxing promoter Eddie Hearns’ Essex mansion throughout the summer. No fans were present because of Covid-19 regulations.
“I knew I would have to dig deep,” said Taylor, 34, who is undefeated in her last 16 matches, winning six of them via knockout. “The fight went as planned, and I thought I boxed a lot smarter this time. It was a better performance. We’ve had two fights, put in 20 gruelling rounds. It’s great to have that rivalry in women’s boxing.”
Photo courtesy WBC Boxing
