Katie Taylor defends her undisputed lightweight titles against Firuza Sharipova
(Picture: Getty Images)Katie Taylor puts her undisputed status on the line once again as she battles Firuza Sharipova in Liverpool.
Saturday night’s women’s lightweight title bout is the chief support to Conor Benn vs Chris Algieri at M&S Bank Arena.
Ireland’s fighting pride has held all the belts in the division since her controversial win over Delphine Persoon back in 2019, maintaining her undefeated record in subsequent defences against Persoon and Miriam Gutierrez while also becoming a two-weight world champion - only the third to hail from Ireland - by defeating Christina Linardatou for WBO super-lightweight honours.
Taylor was given a stern test by former Olympic and amateur rival Natasha Jonas in May, while she was surprisingly taken the distance by IBF mandatory challenger Jennifer Han in an underwhelming display in Leeds four months later.
Taylor now has her eyes firmly fixed on a huge showdown with unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano in 2022, but first she must dispatch her WBA mandatory in the form of Sharipova.
The Kazakhstani has reeled off 14 consecutive victories since losing on her professional debut against Sofya Ochigava in 2016, stopping Liubov Beliakova inside two rounds on her last outing in September.
Taylor vs Sharipova fight card/undercard in full
Conor Benn vs Chris Algieri
Katie Taylor vs Firuza Sharipova
Robbie Davies Jr vs Henry Lundy
Caoimhin Agyarko vs Noe Larios Jr
Joe Cordina vs Miko Khatchatryan
Joe McGrail vs Francisco Rodriguez
Callum French vs Rustem Fatkhullin
Jordan Gill vs Alan Isaias Luques Castillo
Paddy Lacey vs Vasif Mamedov
Taylor vs Sharipova date, start time, venue and ring walks
Katie Taylor vs Firuza Sharipova takes place on Saturday December 11, 2021 at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
The timing of the fight depends, as ever, on the length of the undercard bouts that come before, but ring walks are expected at around 9pm GMT.
How to watch Taylor vs Sharipova
Saturday’s event is being broadcast live via streaming service DAZN, with a monthly subscription currently costing £7.99 in the UK.
The service can be viewed on smart TVs in addition to other devices such as computers, mobiles, gaming consoles and tablets.
You can also follow all the action on fight night with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog.
Taylor vs Sharipova fight prediction
Like most of Taylor’s opponents, Sharipova - a former WIBA lightweight, IBA super-lightweight and IBO super-featherweight champion - is a huge underdog going into this contest, but will have taken heart from Han’s ability to take the Bray fighter the distance, despite the American - who had only fought twice since 2017 - being firmly second best on the night.
Taylor was not at her brilliant, unstoppable best in that fight or indeed in the pulsating clash with Jonas, though is still able to go through the gears and turn up the relentless pressure when she needs to.
Taylor has only forced one stoppage in her last seven outings, while Sharipova's only loss came via decision.
We expect Taylor to dominate a one-sided contest here and secure a wide points win, before attentions turn to Serrano next year.
Taylor vs Sharipova weigh-in
Katie Taylor: 134.7 lb
Firuza Sharipova: 134 ¼ lb
Taylor vs Sharipova betting odds
Taylor to win: 1/25
Sharipova to win: 10/1
Draw: 33/1
Taylor by decision/technical decision: 2/5
Taylor by KO, TKO or DQ: 21/10
Sharipova by decision/technical decision: 20/1
Sharipova by KO, TKO or DQ: 17/1
