By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Katie Taylor of Ireland puts her WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO World Female Lightweight Titles on the line against undefeated Karen Elizabeth Carbajal of Argentina this Saturday, October 29th in London, England. The 10-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Taylor last fought in April when she beat Amanda Serrano by a highly-controversial split decision while Carbajal last boxed in April as well when she took a six-round unanimous decision over Lorena Agoutborde.
The 36-year-old Taylor enters the ring with a perfect record of 21-0 with 6 Ko’s. She’s boxed 174 rounds since making her pro debut in 2016 following a wonderful amateur career. She won a gold medal at the 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 AIBA World Boxing Championships and also captured a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England. She returned to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and lost in her first bout after receiving a bye in the first round of action.
Taylor is quite a celebrity in her homeland as she was honoured with the International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Female Boxer of the Year Award in 2010, the People of the Year Awards – Sportsperson of the Year and the RTÉ Sports Person of the Year in 2012 as well as the Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman of the Year for 2014. Taylor has exceptional boxing skills but not much in the way of power as her current knockout ratio stands at just 28.6 per cent.
Her last stoppage came in 2019 and she’s gone the distance in her last eight outings. Taylor stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach and won her first professional world title in 2017. She’s beaten some of the top female boxers over the years with wins over Amanda Serrano, Anahi Esther Sanchez, Jessica McCaskill, Jennifer Han, Victoria Noelia Bustos, Cindy Serrano, Natasha Jonas, Eva Wahlstrom, Rose Volante, Delfine Persoon, and Christina Linardatou. Taylor has weighed between 132.5 lbs and 139.5 lbs as a pro and has also captured the WBO world Female Super Lightweight Title along the way.
Carbajal is 32 years old and has boxed a total of 113 rounds since making her pro debut in 2013. She carries around a perfect mark of 19-0 with 2 Ko’s and like Taylor, she doesn’t really have a lot of power as her current knockout ratio stands at just 10.5 per cent. However, both of her knockout wins have come in her last three outings as she earned a pair of stoppages last year.
As a pro, Carbajal has never fought outside of her homeland and has faced limited opposition. She has won a few belts along the way though including the vacant Argentine Super Featherweight Title, the WBC Latino Super Featherweight Crown and the vacant South American Super Featherweight Belt. She has an unlisted reach and height so unfortunately we’re unable to compare her size-wise with Taylor.
Prediction…
Taylor’s bout against Amanda Serrano earlier this year was a fight-of-the-year candidate but I think Serrano did just enough to beat her. Carbajal may be unbeaten but she’s not on the same level as Taylor and has never fought outside of Argentina as a pro. I’m sure she’ll give it her best, but I’m expecting Taylor to retain her titles in rather easy fashion.
