Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Fairy Tayl has ended for Connor
KIM CONNOR says she’d have no hesitation stepping back into the ring with
Katie Taylor.
The Texas-born lightweight lost out in her tilt for Taylor’s IBF and WBA crowns after being brutally stopped on her feet in the third round on Saturday.
The Bray superstar dominated the first round but an accidental clash of heads left her with a nastylooking bruise under her right eye before she stopped the American.
Taylor said: “I knew I had a bump on the eye but it wasn’t going to affect me. I happened to catch her with a good shot and got a good finish. I’ve got two belts. Two more to go.”
Connor, a 37-year-old mother of three, enjoyed the experience of trading leather with arguably the greatest pound-for-pound female fighter of all time.
She said: “Even though I lost I would do it all again.
“You only get to live once and I finally got to fight at the top. I didn’t get hurt and can say, when I’m 60, that I tried, and live with no regrets.”
Elsewhere on Saturday, Vladimir Nikitin scored a unanimous decision on his pro debut against Uganda’s Edward Kakembo in Florida.
Two years ago, the Russian feather beat Michael Conlan at the Rio Olympics.
All 36 referees and judges at those Games were stood down and IOC President Thomas Bach has said he is still not fully convinced there was no match-fixing.
Nikitin turned pro this year and inked a deal with Conlan’s Top Rank stable.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum said they’re planning to give Belfast man Conlan a revenge match against the Russian.