Tyson Fury has hailed Katie Taylor as "the immortal of boxing" ahead of her fight with Firuza Sharipova this weekend.
The undisputed lightweight champion puts all her belts on the line once again as she aims to take her professional record to 20-0 in Liverpool on Saturday night.
Sharing a clip of the Bray fighter on his Instagram story on Wednesday, the WBC world heavyweight champion commented: "She is the immortal of boxing. Get up there my girl @katie_t86."
Taylor once again comes into a fight as the overwhelming favourite against Kazakhstani boxer Sharipova, who has won all 14 of her fights since losing on debut, but the 2012 Olympic gold medallist is taking nothing for granted.
Speaking ahead of the fight, she said: "I just love staying sharp, really. You can do all the sparring in the world, but nothing is ever the same as actually stepping into the ring and actually fighting.
“I've never, ever found it hard to actually get up and keep myself motivated for these mandatories. I do understand that these girls are coming for all my belts and we're going to see the best of these opponents every time they step into the ring with me.
"You see it all the time in boxing where fighters have a flat performance and they fail to hold onto their belts. So, I can never, ever get complacent. I'm so aware of that.”
Meanwhile, Sharipova is confident of pulling off an upset, having had Taylor's former opponent Sofya Ochigava help her prepare for the fight.
The 27-year-old said: “I am eight years younger than Katie Taylor, I am stronger than her and Sofya Ochigava [who Taylor beat to gold at the London 2012 Olympics] helped me to prepare for this fight.
“No one else knows how to fight Taylor like Sofya Ochigava. Therefore, not only I, Firuza Sharipova, will be in the ring against Taylor, but the intelligence of Sofya Ochigava, who has prepared me very well for this fight, will be with me.
“Sofya has been in my camp from the very beginning, has passed on all her knowledge to me and has done her best to help me defeat Katie Taylor.
“I watched their fight in the final of the Olympic Games and I’m sure that the judges helped Taylor. Sofya knocked her down, which wasn’t counted. Sofya was better in the fight, she won it.
“Taylor is usually not afraid of anyone, but in that final fight, Sophia saw fear in her eyes. Even now, Taylor refuses to fight Sofya.”
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