Sport

Katie Taylor's win all the sweeter following opponents' pre-fight comments

A MAGNIFICENT win for the Irish woman.

Katie Taylor defeated Natasha Jonas in a magnificent fight on Saturday night to ensure she remained the undisputed lightweight champion of the world.

The judges in London awarded the fight 96-94, 96-95, 96-95 in Taylor's favour, and Jonas' performance was extremely strong, particularly in the early rounds.

While Jonas and her team were perfectly respectable after the decision was awarded, the win may be extra sweet for Taylor after her opponent's comments before the fight.

Jonas' trainer, Joe Gallagher, called for "fairness" in the judges' decision making.

He said: "Natasha Jonas is a strong underdog. I'm telling you now, Katie Taylor, whether she admits it or not, will have had the hardest and most disciplined training camp she's ever had for any of her fights. She knows the serious threat that Natasha brings to the ring.

"What we want in this fight is fairness by the judges and for commentary to score the fight by what's seen.

"I can't bad-word Katie, she's absolutely fantastic, but all I'm going to say is, on the night, if everyone does their jobs, including me and Natasha, then we're going to have a new undisputed world champion."

While the win was quite convincing, a third fight between the two could be on the cards.

Promoter Eddie Hearn was so impressed by the fight that he said he wants to see a rematch in front of a sold out stadium.