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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Firuza Sharipova slams judges' decision following Katie Taylor defeat and plots path to rematch

Firuza Sharipova says she disagreed with the judges' decision which gave Katie Taylor a unanimous verdict win over her last Saturday night.

The Kazakh fighter put in a spirited display against the undisputed lightweight champion in Liverpool, but the judges all ultimately scored the bout in the Bray native's favour 98-92, 97-92, 96-93 to extend Taylor's record to 20-0.

Sharipova is now targeting a rematch with the 2012 Olympic gold medallist, something Taylor was quick to rule out after successfully defending her WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and Ring magazine belts.

Sharipova posted on Instagram: "I do not agree with the judges' decision and I will seek rematch with Katie Taylor. I held an equal fight and represented Kazakhstan with dignity in the international sports arena."

The 27-year-old has also plotted a path to a rematch as she aims to become the mandatory challenger for the Taylor's WBC belt.

She added: "We consulted with my manager and determined that we were interested in two rematch fights with Katie Taylor and Sofia Ochigava. It is clear that Katie Taylor will not agree to a rematch now. In the spring, she will conduct a free defense against Amanda Serrano.

Katie Taylor vs Firuza Sharipova (Mark Robinson Photography/Matchroom)

"At this time, I plan to have a rematch with Ochigawa - an agreement on this has already been reached. And we agreed with her about fair judging: I choose two judges, and she chooses two. This is the most likely fight in the near future, but a lot of work still needs to be done to organize it.

"Sofia is the owner of the WBC Silver belt, which makes her a mandatory contender for Taylor's defense. And if I win this title from her, then I will officially qualify for the fight with Katie again."

When asked about the possibility of a rematch in Saturday's post-fight press conference, Taylor said: "I wouldn't say I'm considering a rematch.

"I knew coming into this fight that she was a great fighter, technically very good. She was a good amatuer as well so I was expecting a tough fight tonight.

"I think everyone else was overlooking this opponent but we certainly weren't."

Katie Taylor vs Firuza Sharipova (Mark Robinson Photography/Matchroom)

She added: "I thought it was a convincing win so I wouldn't say we're really considering a rematch, but she's a great fighter and I had a lot of respect for her coming into this fight as well.

"But I knew I all had to do was get the win for this fight and move on to bigger names next year."

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