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Eddie Hearn said his client Katie Taylor wants to fight Bellator MMA champ Cris Cyborg.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn recently spoke with Irish-Boxing.com about his client Katie Taylor and her plans for the near future. As expected Taylor is targeting super fights with fellow champion boxers. However, she also has her eyes on a match with a champion from the world of MMA.
Hearn named Delfine Persoon as one of the boxers Taylor is eager to fight. They were scheduled to fight for the undisputed lightweight title—in a rematch of a close and brutal fight Taylor won last year—but those plans were at least delayed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor and Persoon have been bitter rivals since Taylor accused Persoon of ducking her earlier in their careers.
The other boxers Hearn named were seven weight world champion Amanda Serrano and undisputed welterweight world champion Cecila Braekhus. The last name he mentioned was Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino.
“She wants Persoon, she wants Serrano, she wants Braekhus, she wants Cyborg. I’m not saying she’s done after that, but that’s what motivates her.”
Taylor currently has a pro record of 15-0. The Irish fighter also holds an Olympic gold medal and 16 gold medals from World, European and EU amateur championships.
Cris Cyborg recently claimed the Bellator Featherweight World Championship, by TKOing Julia Budd at Bellator 238 in January. That fight was Cyborg’s promotional debut. Prior to that she was plying her trade in the UFC.
After a long period in which the UFC, and specifically Dana White, seemed loathe to work with her, Cyborg officially joined that promotion in 2016. Her debut was a TKO win over Leslie Smith at UFC 198 in Cyborg’s hometown of Curitiba, Brazil.
Soon after that win Cyborg won the UFC featherweight title by beating Tonya Evinger by TKO. Cyborg defended that belt against Holly Holm and Yana Kunitskaya before eventually losing it to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.
After the loss to Nunes, which was only the second loss of Cyborg’s career and the first since her professional debut, Cyborg beat Felicia Spencer; that was her final UFC appearance.
Outside of MMA Cyborg holds an impressive winning pro grappling record. She also has a 2-1 kickboxing record. She has never competed in professional boxing.
Despite her inexperience with pro boxing this is not the first time Cyborg’s name has been mentioned in boxing circles. She and undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields have hinted at the possibility of one day fighting each other.
Shields and Cyborg also appear to be friends and have sparred together in the past.