Katie to face Gentili giant as Bolger’s German move confirmed

KATIE TAYLOR will meet Italian lightweight Monica Gentili at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night.

They clash on the David Haye-Tony Bellew undercard in Taylor’s third fight in the professional ranks.

Gentili(39) has won six and lost six of her 12 fights, with six of those losses coming in her last nine outings.

Taylor (30) remains unbeaten after two pro outings.

“I definitely feel in great shape. I feel like I’m boxing better than I have been for a long, long time. I feel a lot stronger and I have built up more muscle as well and I’m punching a bit harder,” she said.

She is scheduled to face three fights in the next two months.

On March 25 she is likely to return to the Manchester Arena to fight on the undercard of the World lightweight title rematch between Anthony Crollo and Jorge Linares.

A month later she will be on the undercard of the biggest show – in terms of attendance – in the history of British boxing when Anthony Joshua defends his World heavyweight title against Wladimir Kiltschko at Wembley.

Saturday’s card will be broadcast live by Sky Box office.

Meanwhile, Eddie Bolger will lead the German Boxing Federation into this year’s World Elite Championships and into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The now former Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) high-performance coach confirmed that he will ink a two-year deal with the Germans.

The 47-year Wexford native will work the German corner as head coach for the first time at the Chemistry Cup, which begins on March 13 in Halle, Germany.

Bolger has had a major influence on the career of Joe Ward. One of the perks of his new contract is ten flights home a year.

He said: “It’s a fantastic offer. I didn’t have a choice really in terms of development. It’s a bit scary in a way, but I have to accept these challenges if I want to develop as an Elite coach.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me to work as head coach of a strong boxing nation such as Germany at their new centre of excellence in Heidelberg.

“The IABA have been very supportive to me and I remain on very good terms with all involved Irish boxing.”