Taylor Dominates Volante, Irish Take 2 of 3 at Liacouras Center
By Tim McCloskey
Katie Taylor
Superstar Irish lightweight boxer Katie Taylor defeated Rose Volane of Brazil with a 9th round TKO to start Saint Patrick’s weekend in Philadelphia. Taylor now leaves Philly with the WBO belt at 135 pounds.
Taylor easily led the scorecards in all stats prior to the knockout. Volante was dropped to the canvas in round 1, and Taylor landed 142 of 276 power shots (51%) compared to Volante’s output of 78 of 308 shots (25%.)
“I thought it was a great performance,” Taylor said. “Rose Volante is a very tough opponent. I knew she was going to come here to fight. I think she got the best out of me here tonight. Tonight we’ve definitely seen a great showcase for women’s boxing.”
“She definitely had a bit of pop at the end of her punch.” She added. “But I have a great chin and I can stand there and trade punches with anyone. I also have the power to hurt those girls.”
After the win, Taylor immediately zeroed in on her next target: Delfine Persoon, the former kickboxing champ from Belgium who holds the WBC title. With a win over Persoon, Taylor will hold the Holy Grail of boxing, the four major world title belts: IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC.
“Now we can start talking about that fight, Persoon. That name’s been coming up over the last two years. I’ve got the three belts, she’s got the WBC belt, so we have to get that fight on next.”
“My goal is to become the undisputed champion first and foremost. The fights with Amanda and Cecilia are a lot bigger when I have got the four belts. So that fight with Persoon is a fantastic chance. She’s been a long-reigning champion for many years. That’s going to be a fantastic fight.”
Superstar Irish lightweight boxer Katie Taylor defeated Rose Volane of Brazil with a 9th round TKO to start Saint Patrick’s weekend in Philadelphia. Taylor now leaves Philly with the WBO belt at 135 pounds.
Taylor easily led the scorecards in all stats prior to the knockout. Volante was dropped to the canvas in round 1, and Taylor landed 142 of 276 power shots (51%) compared to Volante’s output of 78 of 308 shots (25%.)
“I thought it was a great performance,” Taylor said. “Rose Volante is a very tough opponent. I knew she was going to come here to fight. I think she got the best out of me here tonight. Tonight we’ve definitely seen a great showcase for women’s boxing.”
“She definitely had a bit of pop at the end of her punch.” She added. “But I have a great chin and I can stand there and trade punches with anyone. I also have the power to hurt those girls.”
After the win, Taylor immediately zeroed in on her next target: Delfine Persoon, the former kickboxing champ from Belgium who holds the WBC title. With a win over Persoon, Taylor will hold the Holy Grail of boxing, the four major world title belts: IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC.
“Now we can start talking about that fight, Persoon. That name’s been coming up over the last two years. I’ve got the three belts, she’s got the WBC belt, so we have to get that fight on next.”
“My goal is to become the undisputed champion first and foremost. The fights with Amanda and Cecilia are a lot bigger when I have got the four belts. So that fight with Persoon is a fantastic chance. She’s been a long-reigning champion for many years. That’s going to be a fantastic fight.”
Jono “King Kong” Carroll
In the Co-Main event, Finglas-born and Dunshaughlin-raised slugger Jono “King Kong” Carroll lost to North Philly’s own Tevin Farmer in a hard-fought world title fight by Unanimous Decision. Carroll was outclassed both offensively and defensively throughout the bout, but held on to finish on his feet. The 11th round was particularly shaky when the ref looked as if he might call the fight after Carroll seemed punched out and a bloody gash developed on his forehead.
The crowd support appeared to be split 50/50 between the hometown favorite Farmer and the Dubliner Carroll. There was a large Irish traveling contingent as well as many Irish-American representatives from local AOH chapters in the Temple University basketball arena to kick off St Patrick’s Day weekend.
Retired Irish national hero Barry McGuigan was ringsisde with his son Shane and former super-middleweight champ George Groves, along with undefeated Waterford welterweight Rohan Patrick Date.
Sugar Ray Leonard, Danny “Swift” Garcia and lightweight contender Devin Haney were also ringside. Michael Buffer served as ring announcer. The bouts were broadcast live via Sky Sports and streamed on DAZN.
Farmer’s promoter Lou DiBella, praised Carroll’s performance
“This guy should be proud and I told him that after the fight,” DiBella said.
“I’ve got an awful lot of respect for this guy.”
“He came in and executed the best he could. He didn’t get the decision but he earned the respect of the entire boxing world.
“Anyone who says this fight and doesn’t respect this guy doesn’t know anything about the sport.”
After the final bell rang, Carroll spent much time in the crowd shaking hands and posing for photographs with fans, clearly appreciative of the support.
John Joe Nevin
In the night’s walkout bout, Mullingar’s John Joe Nevin easily defeated durable Columbian Andres Figueroa on the scorecards to remain undefeated and on course for a big 2019. Despite being the final bout of the evening, many in the crowd stayed and cheered on the Olympic silver medalist throughout the six rounder. Nevin calls Philly his “second home” and personally sold more than 500 tickets to the event. He is trained locally by Derek “Bozy” Ennis.
Nevin posted to Facebook Sunday after the fight:
“See U soon Mullingar THE CHAMPS HOME looking forward to seeing the family! To all my friends and fans in Philly, it was a pleasure and can’t wait to see ye all soon again! Happy Paddy’s Day to everyone hope ye all have a good day! drink sensibly.”