Who won Katie Taylor vs. Delfine Persoon 1? Rescoring the first Taylor-Persoon fight

On June 1, 2019, Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon clashed with the undisputed lightweight championship of the world at stake. 

The fight took place at a raucous Madison Square Garden in New York City, where unified world heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua lost to Andy Ruiz Jr. via a shocking seventh-round TKO in the main event. While that bout overshadowed Taylor and Persoon going the distance, it couldn't completely dispel the cloud of controversy that lingered following Taylor's majority decision over Persoon.

Judges scored it 95-95, 96-94 and 96-94, giving the majority decision to Taylor. However, there were fans and commentators who felt that Persoon's smothering style did enough damage for the then-WBC champ to walk out of the boxing "Mecca" with Taylor's WBA, WBO and IBF titles in tow. CompuBox numbers show that Taylor was the cleaner, crisper puncher, as she landed 103 of 410 shots (25.1 percent) to Persoon's 116 of 586 for 19.8 percent. But those same stats indicate that Persoon was the aggressor, showing a willingness to eat punches and charge ahead to muddy up the fight.

The razor-thin decision in favor of Taylor paved the way for the rematch, which will be held at the Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, England on Saturday. But who really won their first meeting? That's the question DAZN News is out to answer.

Ahead of the highly anticipated rematch, DAZN News had three writers rewatch the fight in real time, producing its own scorecard to compare to what judges ringside at Madison Square Garden had that night last June.

WATCH TAYLOR-PERSOON 1: DAZN | Sky Sports

Round 1

Hale: It's obvious the roles that are going to be played in the fight from the opening round. Persoon is determined to be the aggressor while Taylor planned to rely on her boxing ability to capitalize on any mistakes her opponent makes. Will vs. Skill is the name of the game, and Taylor's skill sets the pace by picking off her Persoon's awkward and lunging advances throughout the opening round. 

Lelinwalla: After feeling each other out, Taylor briefly grazes Persoon with a left hook. Moments later, she splits Persoon's guard with a flurry right up the middle and Persoon comes up empty looking for a counter. Persoon relentlessly moving forward to the point where she's even a bit out of control and is greeted with a check left hook from Taylor. A left hook partially lands for Persoon seconds later. Persoon lunging forward but missing a lot of her attempts.

Happe: The first two minutes alone sum up just how tough this fight was, and is, to judge. Persoon is aggressive and enterprising from the get-go. It’s easy to see why that impressed many. That said, Taylor is landing well and landing frequently on the counter, catching the Belgian off-balance more than once. 

DAZN News Judges

• Hale: 10-9 Taylor
• Lelinwalla: 10-9 Taylor
• Happe: 10-9 Taylor

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Taylor
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Taylor
• Don Trella: 10-9 Taylor

Round 2

Hale: Persoon's persistence is developing cracks in Taylor's game plan. Undeterred by Taylor's sharp counterpunching, Persoon plows forward and stays right in Taylor's grill, landing several inside punches, including a pair of left hooks later in the round that definitely got Taylor's attention. Taylor has now recognized that she's in a fight, but she's unaware she has found herself in Persoon's fight. 

Lelinwalla: Persoon catches Taylor with a solid right jab thanks to her nonstop motoring forward. Taylor responds seconds later with a three-punch combination that Persoon counters with a left. Taylor tacks on a right. It's evident already that Persoon wants to muddy this fight up inside in attempt to hinder Taylor's boxing ability. Persoon lands a right, but Taylor responds with a right of her own. They're now exchanging shots inside. Persoon coming on strong, lands two left hooks. Taylor lets loose on a combo in the phone booth, before Persoon responds with two rights, including one that connects right on Taylor's forehead at the sound of the bell. Enough hustle and output to snag the second.

Happe: Here, Persoon’s aggression is starting to find a little more focus, and it’s rewarded by some solid lands on Taylor, who connected more than once herself but spends the majority of the second being drawn into her opponent’s tempo and movement.

DAZN News Judges

Hale: 10-9 Persoon (19-19)
Lelinwalla: 10-9 Persoon (19-19)
Happe: 10-9 Persoon (19-19)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Persoon (19-19)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Taylor (20-18 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Persoon (19-19)

Round 3

Hale: Taylor aims to slow Persoon down by committing to a body attack. However, Persoon only ramps up the activity and continues to make things ugly on the inside. Neither have landed anything of distinct significance, but Taylor likely snares the round late by landing a clean right hand off the break. 

Lelinwalla: Taylor opens the round looking to attack the body. Persoon still moving forward, connects on a jab. Fighters get tangled up inside, but trying to unload on short punches to the face. Persoon will take a punch if it means being able to dish it back with or without an opening. Another entangled, smothering exchange that Taylor manages to punctuate with a hard right hand. 

Happe: Persoon keeps up her belligerence here and Taylor is still taking the bait. There are a few glimpses of visible frustration — similar to what Eddie Hearn identified in Taylor’s facial expressions during their recent e-press conference in the lead-up to the rematch — as the Irish fighter continues to struggle to establish her preferred style of fight. 

DAZN News Judges

• Hale: 10-9 Taylor (29-28 Taylor)
• Lelinwalla: 10-9 Taylor (29-28 Taylor)
• Happe: 10-9 Persoon (29-28 Persoon)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Taylor (29-28 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Taylor (30-27 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Persoon (29-28 Persoon)

Round 4

Hale: Persoon continues to be willing to take a punch in order to give one back, but Taylor has made some adjustments with spacing to find room to land crisp combinations. Nothing is hurting Persoon, but she's piling up points in an important round.  

Lelinwalla: Persoon just keeps moving forward even if it means getting caught with a combination and another. Taylor is trying to create space to box and at times is successful, but Persoon's engine is relentless. Taylor has a noticeable cut on her forehead and another cut on her nose, but did enough to take the round. 

Happe: Another close round but Taylor is beginning to succeed in finding tiny pockets of space at the right moments because her lands are starting to string together. Not just a 10-9 round for Taylor, but a critical one as far as halting the slide into Persoon’s preferred down-and-dirty scrap. 

DAZN News Judges

• Hale: 10-9 (39-37 Taylor)
• Lelinwalla: 10-9 Taylor (39-37 Taylor)
• Happe: 10-9 Taylor (38-38)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Taylor (39-37 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Taylor (40-36 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Taylor (38-38)

Round 5

Hale: Any thoughts that Persoon would be frustrated after a successul Taylor round are thrown in the bushes in the fifth round. Persoon charges forward and eats a left hand, but it doesn't prevent Persoon from getting where she wants to be. Once inside, Persoon goes to work and catches Taylor with some hard shots. Taylor beckons for Persoon to attack, showing a willingness to fight rather than box. It's a bad idea as Persoon clearly prefers to make it ugly and does a fantastic job doing so. 

Lelinwalla: Persoon charging forward with her head down and gets caught with a timed left from Taylor. Still, Persoon keeps moving forward. They're in the phone booth again, with Taylor slightly buckling Persoon at the knees with a stiff left hook. And another one follows seconds later. Taylor resting on the ropes waves Persoon forward, and the challenger happily obliges and unloads on a flurry — mostly missing their mark. Taylor again invites her forward to the roar of the crowd. Both fighters swinging and missing wildly for a moment, with Taylor showing that she's willing to abandon her boxing and straight up fight — dangerously knowing by now that the strategy could play into Persoon's hands. They're in the clinch briefly. A good left hand from Persoon leaves her open for a counter right. Persoon in the clinch, unloading on uppercuts. Close, ugly, hard round to score. 

Happe: Taylor’s finding mostly gloves on her shots in this round while Persoon is finding skin more often than not. Combine that with Taylor’s attempts to play damage control as Persoon pens her in and tries to go to work by doing the tough-nut "wave opponent in for more" taunt — twice! — and this is definitely a Persoon round for me.

DAZN News Judges

• Hale: 10-9 Persoon (48-47 Taylor)
• Lelinwalla: 10-9 Persoon (48-47 Taylor)
• Happe: 10-9 Persoon (48-47 Persoon)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Persoon (48-47 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Taylor (50-45 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Taylor (48-47 Taylor)

Round 6

Hale: The check hook from Taylor is incredibly effective in this round as Taylor picks her spots, avoids punishment and lands the hook. Rinse and repeat for the duration of the round. 

Lelinwalla: Counter hook from Taylor keeps Persoon honest for a moment. Persoon is the aggressor, but Taylor is making her miss plenty of shots, while still carving out lanes to land punches herself. The check hook, in particular, is finding a home. 

Happe: Night and day between Rounds 5 and 6 for Taylor. Much more fluid, much smarter timing her launches, and the first of the entire fight that truly looked like it played out how Taylor’s camp envisioned pre-fight, as opposed to Persoon’s team.

DAZN News Judges

• Hale: 10-9 Taylor (58-56 Taylor)
• Lelinwalla: 10-9 Taylor (58-56 Taylor)
• Happe: 10-9 Taylor (57-57)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Taylor (58-56 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Persoon (59-55 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Taylor (58-56 Taylor)

Round 7

Hale: This is the round where it is noticeable that Taylor is slowing down and the pressure is wearing on her. Persoon has shown no sign of relenting and charges into Taylor with punches that clearly move the undefeated fighter around. In the closing minute, Persoon takes over with several big shots to snare the round.  

Lelinwalla: Taylor making Persoon miss plenty of shots through the first minute, tacking on a hard right hand for good measure on the Belgian fighter. Swelling over Persoon's left eye is pretty glaring. A quick left-right combo grazes Persoon as well. Persoon catches Taylor with a right hand out the clinch and then a chopping left-right combo lands flush for her as well. This was an ultra tight round to score thanks to Persoon's late handy work, but Taylor did just enough to eke this one out. 

Happe: Taylor starts this one by prioritising feet over hands, and at first it works as Persoon chases a shadow. But then, just past the halfway mark, she catches up to Taylor and gets some really good shots in. This was a half-and-half round and another where 10-9 either way or even 10-10 would be hard to complain about. I'll go 10-9 Persoon and even then, I'm not 100 per cent convinced that I should.

DAZN News Judges

Hale: 10-9 Persoon (67-66 Taylor)
Lelinwalla: 10-9 Taylor (68-65 Taylor)
Happe: 10-9 Persoon (67-66 Persoon)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Taylor (68-65 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Persoon (68-65 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Persoon (67-66 Taylor)

Round 8

Hale: Taylor is trying to fight off a surging Persoon who is awkward and aggressive. But what Persoon continues to do is find her mark. Taylor again showing signs of frustration as she tries to back away and counter off of Persoon's advances. It's increasingly hard to give Taylor rounds where she's taking a step back and being unable to land any crisp counters. 

Lelinwalla: Taylor is clearly the crisper puncher, yet every time she lands a shot, Persoon moves forward. Persoon ate some clean shots only to bounce back with a right hand that clobbers Taylor off the ropes. She's punching in the clinch and then lands back-to-back left hooks flush. Another left, followed by a right. Persoon has successfully muddied up this fight and made it ugly to take away from Taylor's skillful boxing. This might have been Persoon's best round yet. 

Happe: Both fighters are covered in facial marks at this stage, and Persoon’s style is becoming increasingly ugly. And yet, in this one, she’s having more success in getting through the guard. Another close one, but I’m leaning Persoon on lands. 

DAZN News Judges

Hale: 10-9 Persoon (76-76)
Lelinwalla: 10-9 Persoon (77-75 Taylor)
Happe: 10-9 Persoon (77-75 Persoon)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Persoon (77-75 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Persoon (77-75 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Persoon (76-76)

Round 9

Hale: Taylor needed this round because the train known as Persoon was ready to run her over. There's a right hand that lands flush on Persoon that is one of the best moments of the fight. Taylor has found a second wind and operates from distance while taking back control of the fight. She's tiring but earned a round she desperately needed. 

Lelinwalla: A solid check hook from Taylor gets Persoon's attention. Then, she comes behind that with a stiff right hand straight to Persoon's face. That was some punch. A crafty Taylor now steps back, creates some space from Persoon's smothering style and lands a quick combo as well. Persoon now eats a left hand from Taylor also. But the Belgian fighter comes back with a right. Taylor trips and Persoon steps over her. A solid right and left lands for Taylor, but the champ is clearly fatigued. 

Happe: Taylor rediscovers her cerebral side here, and although once again she seems to find it really difficult sustaining the finesse for the entire two minutes, she does enough to edge this one unlike in the seventh.

DAZN News Judges

Hale: 10-9 Taylor (86-85 Taylor)
Lelinwalla: 10-9 Taylor (87-84 Taylor)
Happe: 10-9 Taylor (86-85)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Taylor (87-84 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Taylor (87-84 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Taylor (86-85 Taylor)

Round 10

Hale: Any hope that Persoon would slow down was dashed as she was relentless over the final two minutes. Persoon never stops punching while Taylor is looking for spots. Persoon is landing a lot of shots on Taylor over the final minute, but the undefeated fighter summons the strength to go to war in the final seconds. An excellent final round that Persoon absolutely needed.  

Lelinwalla: Persoon is the more energetic fighter in this final frame, as she stands in the pocket and unloads with rights and lefts in the center of the ring, showing her hunger for the win. They trade fire moments later, with Persoon bouncing a left hand off the champ's forehead. She adds a right, and Taylor responds with a right of her own. They fight to the final bell, with Persoon taking the round and leaving a lasting impression. 

Happe: Great finish to the fight. Movie fight scene stuff. But Taylor’s biggest weakness of the entire contest rears its head again as she’s flagging halfway through the round. The pendulum swings in the lands department and the epic exchange of shots at the end of a picturesque war almost turns into a one-sided climax.  

DAZN News Judges

Hale: 10-9 Persoon (95-95)
Lelinwalla: 10-9 Persoon (96-94 Taylor)
Happe: 10-9 Persoon (96-94 Persoon)

Ringside Judges

• Allen Nace: 10-9 Persoon (96-94 Taylor)
• John Poturaj: 10-9 Persoon (96-94 Taylor)
• Don Trella: 10-9 Persoon (95-95)

Taylor-Persoon 1 scoring analysis

In the end, one can definitely argue that Persoon wanted it more and backed up that assertion with her throwing more punches and her nonstop forward movement. That being said, Taylor still found a way to land the cleaner, crisper shots, while dealing with Persoon's smothering style and making the Belgian fighter miss plenty of punches.

The champ has to be given credit for that. Upon rewatching the fight, specific rounds were 50-50 and can be argued in favor of Persoon. In the end, the scorecards of the DAZN News judges show just how difficult this fight was to score: a 95-95, 96-94, 94-96 split draw, compared to the official majority decision win for Taylor.

If anything, the bigger argument to be made should be in favor of women's boxing having three-minute rounds because that extra 12 minutes might have produced a more conclusive result.

In the meantime, we'll look forward to the rematch, and hope it's as electric as the first Taylor-Persoon fight.