Heading into her rematch with Cecilia Braekhus on Saturday night, Jessica McCaskill wanted to prove the first time was no fluke.
The fight played out similar to the first fight back in August with a wider result as McCaskill won by unanimous decision (100-89, 99-90, 98-91) to remain the undisputed women's welterweight champion at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
McCaskill (10-2, 3 KOs) came out the only way she knows how, shuffling forward, slinging the leather, and not giving Braekhus much room to breathe. At the end of the opening round, McCaskill stunned Breakhus with a right hand in what was the hardest punch of the fight.
Much like what we saw seven months ago, McCaskill controlled the first half of the fight, and then Braekhus started to figure out things beginning in the sixth round, using her reach advantage to pump the jab and keep McCaskill at bay. But in the seventh round, Braekhus was deducted a point for excessive holding.
McCaskill used her aggression and activity the remainder of the way to secure the victory and hold onto WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF, and the vacant Ring 147-pound titles.
The question is, what's next for the Chicago native? She told DAZN News earlier in the week that Katie Taylor was a name that piqued her interest. When asked, she added an additional name along with Taylor.
"If Katie Taylor is the next one, let's go," McCaskill told DAZN's Chris Mannix in her post-fight interview. "If Claressa (Shields) wants to come down to 147, see if she could make the weight ... we got a lot of options."