‘Boxing should be about boxing’ – Eric Donovan heralds Katie Taylor as ‘deserved’ winner
It was a tough and brutal fight, but one Katie Taylor deserved to win claims Eric Donovan.
Taylor retained her four lightweight world titles with a 98-93, 96-94, 96-94 points win over the ever game Delfine Persoon on Fight Camp 4 on Saturday night.
The badly bruised Belgian had no issue with the scoring of the rematch and revealed she ‘respected’ the result.
However, there were some arguing the former WBC world champion won the bout. Those at Sky Sports had the Irish star losing and that seems to have affected public opinion across Britain.
Their argument seems to revolve around the constant pressure Persoon applied over the 10 rounds.
Donovan, himself a Fight Camp participant, disagrees he suggests pressure without clean work shouldn’t win a fight.
“It was a brutal contest where Katie needed to be disciplined to run out the deserving winner and she was the deserving winner,” observed the Athy fighter on 2fm’s Game On.
“Delfine Persoon brings you down to a certain level but has a serious engine and incredible strength to bring you into the pocket. If she gets you in that pocket she’ll chop you up.
“Katie was able to minimise the damage, while at the same time reserving energy for the home stretch.”
The skilled Kildare southpaw believes Taylor’s skills ultimately told and claims her purer boxing and more clinical work won her the fight.
He continued: “In amateur boxing it’s all about punches. In professional boxing a lot more things come into play like ring generalship and ring dominance.
“Who is forcing the initiative? Who’s on top? Who is the more physical? All of these things are also factors. And then it’s up to the judges discretion – what they do and don’t like.
“For me, and it’s subjective, boxing should be about boxing. Who hits the most clinical punches? Who hits the most decisive punches? I would score a lot on defensive skills. I love to see a boxer make another boxer miss in the ring. Katie did those things very well.”
