Katie Taylor is being portrayed as distinctly average by Jessica McCaskill.
The American will take on Taylor in a WBA title fight in London’s York Hall this Wednesday. Having campaigned hard to fight Taylor, ever since the Bray native turned professional, McCaskill is exactly where she wants to be.
During Monday’s press conference for the headline Taylor vs. McCaskill bout, the Chicago native claimed she had spotted a number of flaws in the champion’s game. In break-out interviews, McCaskill doubled down and made a bold prediction.
“There are a couple of Irish guys in the gym, back home [in Chicago] at Body Shot, that got us hip to Katie Taylor,” she told Behind the Gloves.
“I felt like after she flurried in the second round [against Anahi Esther Sanchez], she went flat; she got winded,” McCaskill added. “So I don’t really know what her conditioning is like.
“They mentioned something about her being not really up to par on fight week but that’s how it is. I don’t feel that a fighter is ever at 100% so you just have to play your strengths and learn how to fight the right way. Box a little, fight a little, you’ve just got to figure it out.”
McCaskill, who is 5-1 in her pro career, says she started out as a “brawler” but training under Rick Ramos over the past couple of years has made her a much more skillful boxer. Asked for a prediction, she declared:
“I definitely think it’s going to be a shocker… I don’t think it’s going to go the whole 10 rounds so keep your eyes open; don’t blink!”
This is a level of trash talk Taylor has yet to experience yet.
This one should be fun.
