If Ronda Rousey is game, so is Katie Taylor.
The semi-retired Irish superstar tells BoxingScene’s Lance Pugmire that a boxing match with the former UFC Bantamweight Champion is something that interests her.
Pugmire broke the news on Monday that negotiations are ongoing to make the fight happen with Netflix interested in broadcasting the bout.
“She has an amazing mentality,” Taylor said of Rousey. “You don’t get to the position she’s in without a fantastic mind, without a fantastic mentality. It’s just a very interesting fight. Seeing all the headlines this morning, I was thinking, ‘OK, I’m up and ready for this fight.’”
Taylor, 39, most recently fought in July at Madison Square Garden, winning a second straight bout, and third overall, against Amanda Serrano, this time by majority decision. In September, she relinquished her WBC light welterweight title with the promotion considering her Champion Emeritus. The native of Bray is 25-1 overall with six knockouts. Her lone blemish was a majority decision loss to Chantelle Cameron in 2023.
Speaking at the WBC convention in Bangkok, Taylor told Pugmire that the fight is something she believes fans would be interested in watching.
“It’s a fight that will interest and capture the imagination of the fans and that’s what boxing needs,” Taylor said. “I’d be very, very happy to fight Ronda. I’m very open to these kinds of fights where all generations can sit down and watch boxing.”
Rousey, 38, has not fought since 2016 in a first-round technical knockout defeat by Amanda Nunes. The Olympic bronze medalist in judo was 12-2 in her UFC career with both defeats coming in her last two fights. Following her departure from the UFC, she spent five-plus years in World Wrestling Entertainment, wrapping up her tenure with the promotion in 2023.
