Undisputed lightweight boxing champion Katie Taylor (15-0, 6 KOs) appeared calm in her recent ePress Conference with upcoming opponent Delfine Persoon (44-2, 18 KOs), but was seething on the inside according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Taylor unified the women’s weight class with a majority decision over Persoon in an extremely close barn-burner at Madison Square Garden on June 1, 2019.
The bout was inconclusive in the eyes of many, and the two will rematch as chief support to Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin at the fourth Matchroom Fight Camp card on Saturday, Aug. 22.
Hearn moderated a discussion between the two this week via Zoom, due to the current social distancing guidelines — and the challenger did not hold back on her thoughts regarding the first fight.
“We watched this fight back many times, the Belgian explained. “Katie says she did enough to win the fight but she did not do enough. Everyone has their own way of looking at the fight
"If we had rounds of three minutes it would be better for me. I know she wouldn't box with me for three minutes. She will run.
"In the first fight there was a lot of holding, holding, holding. In another country they would tell you: 'Don't hold' then take away a point. But they never spoke about her holding me. In the fourth round her trainer said: 'Grab her arms!'
“Is she going to run and grab me? For the people, that is not a good fight.
"Ten rounds of running with one or two punches is not a fight that people want to see. Katie throws one shot, runs away, then grabs.
"I hope she wants a nice fight — two boxers to go for it, and the best boxer wins. Let's show that two women can have a spectacular fight — but I don't think she will."
Ireland’s Taylor tried to remain calm during the call, as her opponent continued to criticise the outcome of their first encounter.
“I’m gonna fight the right fight for me, at the end of the day,” said Taylor in rebuttal. “It’s not called running, it’s called boxing.
"I’ve heard so many fighters claim that Floyd Mayweather ran, but Mayweather was a genius in the ring. It’s not about me running, it’s about skill.”
But Hearn later told Off The Ball AM that he definitely picked up on the champion’s subtle reactions to Persoon’s harsher comments.
He said: "It's strange seeing Katie in a grudge match isn't it?
"I did a press conference the other night on Zoom with the pair of them and you could cut the tension with a knife.
"I mean, Katie can be cold, because when you meet someone that is so driven and so single-minded in her life about what she wants but all of a sudden you've got this other fighter coming in calling her a 'paper champ', 'overrated', saying 'she runs.'
"I could just feel Katie fuming, basically.
"She really wants to win this fight. The first fight at Madison Square Garden was one of the best fights I've ever seen."
TAYLOR-PERSOON HIGHLIGHTS: U.K. | U.S.
Persoon’s comments aren’t exclusive to the Zoom call. She has been questioning the legitimacy of the MSG result for over a year.
However, Taylor insisted during the call that none of it is working.
“What Delfine says doesn’t affect me at all,” she explained. “I’m a very composed person so I wouldn’t take much notice of what she says.”