By Connor O'Halloran
OCTOBER 29, 2022
Source: ESPN
Photo Source: Getty Images
LONDON -- Katie Taylor successfully made her seventh defense of her undisputed lightweight boxing title as she outpointed Karen Elizabeth Carabajal in a comfortable unanimous decision victory at Wembley Arena on Saturday.
Taylor, who won by scores of 100-91, 99-91 and 98-92, was making her first appearance since claiming a split-decision victory over Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden in New York City -- billed as the biggest fight in women's boxing history.
Both fighters entered Saturday's bout undefeated, but Carabajal (19-1, 2 KO) was facing by far the most difficult opponent of her career in Taylor (22-0, 6 KO), who is ESPN's No. 1 women's pound-for-pound fighter and widely regarded one of the best of her generation.
The fight marked the second major bout headlined by two women fighters in the U.K. in a matter of weeks following Claressa Shields' unanimous decision over Savannah Marshall in London on Oct. 15.
It was Carabajal's first fight as a professional outside her native Argentina as well as her first shot at a world title, with Taylor's WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO lightweight belts on the line. The pair stood toe-to-toe in the opening stages.
After a quiet first round, the bout began in earnest in the second, with both fighters landing punches but Taylor looking much tidier and eventually sending Carabajal into a stagger with a counter right at the end of the round.
Taylor continued to dominate throughout, with Carabajal rarely looking to trouble the undisputed champion. It took until the ninth for Taylor to land the best shot of the night -- a superb left hook -- as she began to let her hands go and caused a cut above Carabajal's right eye.
Taylor never looked she would lose, with Saturday's result keeping her on course to meet Serrano in a highly anticipated rematch. Taylor said her plan for next year is to make her first professional fight in Ireland at the 80,000-seater Croke Park in Dublin.
The Irish government has refused to sanction bouts following a shooting in 2016 at a weigh-in at the Dublin Regency Hotel. However, Taylor said ahead of the Carabajal fight that negotiations had taken place with the Irish government and she is confident that a bout can be made.
"It's time to return to Ireland now," Matchroom promoter Eddie Heard said. "Whoever it is against, the next fight has to be Ireland."
Earlier in the night, Spanish veteran Kiko Martinez (44-11-2, 31 KOs) won an IBF world title eliminator with a TKO win against European featherweight titleholder Jordan Gill (27-2-1, 8 KOs) in the co-main event. Martinez dominated the opening two rounds before sending Gill to the canvas twice in the third and again in the fourth, prompting his corner to throw in the towel.
Martinez, who earned his fifth European title, called out WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood after the fight.
Meanwhile, Johnny Fisher (7-0, 6 KOs) earned a comfortable first-round TKO victory over Dominik Musil (7-5, 5 KOs) after laying siege with a barrage of punches.
Ellie Scotney (6-0) won the European super bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Mary Romero (8-3), while Gary Cully (15-0) took just 35 seconds to score a superb first-round TKO over Jaouad Belmedhi (16-1-3).
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