Katie Taylor prepared to go the ‘boring’ route
The pair meet for the WBA inter-continental lightweight belt in a world-title eliminator tonight on the undercard of the world heavyweight championship clash between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko.
With over 90,000 tickets sold and a significant portion of that crowd set to be present for Taylor’s bout, the Bray native’s Sky TV backers and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Promotions will hope that their leading lady does not fail to fire on such a big stage - particularly since US broadcasters are likely to screen her bout.
The 30-year-old (4-0) insists that boosting her record is the main priority, however, when she takes on undefeated 23-year-old Meinke sometime after 7pm on Sky Box Office.
The German (5-0) is a southpaw, which could make for a more tactical affair than Taylor’s previous pro bouts should the female fighters’ respective styles clash.
“I think the most important thing first is just to win the fight and to make the fight as easy as possible,” said Taylor. “You see the likes of Klitschko and he has no problems being boring and winning fights, so I think sometimes you just have to go about it that way as well.
“Hopefully it can be an exciting as well, but if it’s a case where it’s going to be a technical affair then I have no problem doing that as well because at the end of the day it’s just important to get the win,” added the five-time amateur world champion.
“But I suppose it’s important for me to stamp my authority early on in the fight… It’s just important, I suppose, to let them know who’s boss right from the start.”
Meinke is undefeated, carrying a 5-0 record, and one of the most intriguing aspects to the bout is the fact that the Spandau native is a southpaw.
Some of the Bray woman’s toughest tests in the amateurs came against ‘lefties’ such as Russia’s Sofya Ochigava and England’s Natasha Jonas and Taylor has been susceptible to right hands – the leading jab of a southpaw – in the past.
“I’ve never really had any trouble boxing against a southpaw,” countered Taylor. “With my amateur experience, you were boxing southpaws nearly every second fight so I think with that experience behind me I’ll be fine,” the Bray woman added.
“I think Meinke’s style is probably a bit more aggressive than the likes of Ochigava and those tricky kind of southpaws. Those kind of fights are a lot better over 10 rounds because you have time to work them out.”
With both Ochigava and Jonas turning pro and multi-weight world champion Amanda Serrano all being southpaws – and Taylor on course for a world-title shot in Dublin later this year – tonight’s bout also appears to be a primer for future big fights.
Meinke’s pre-fight admission that Taylor is “one of my idols” suggests that this is likely to be another chance for the Bray native to record another dominant victory as the pair both fight in their first bout to be scheduled for 10 rounds – the female championship distance.
Taylor weighed in two pounds heavier than Meinke yesterday, with the Bray native clocking the scales at 134lbs 8oz.
Meanwhile, the main event appears to be an unpredictable affair as the younger, relatively untested but heavy-hitting Joshua is the bookies’ favourite to overcome the often dull yet authoritative veteran Klitschko.
“It’s an intriguing battle, for sure,” said Taylor of the main event. “I can’t really call it… but it’s very interesting to see whether it’s going to come too soon for Anthony Joshua or too late for Klitschko,” she added.
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