WORLD-HEAVYWEIGHT champion Tyson Fury has said Katie Taylor has no match ahead of her upcoming fight against Firuza Sharipova fight this weekend.
The lightweight champion's record of 20-0 is on the line this weekend. Taylor is a former Olympic champion and is the bookies' favourite to beat Sharipova, her Kazakhstani opponent.
The Gypsy King is one of many boxing stars to praise the 35-year-old's work. The recent WBC heavyweight champion took to his Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, sharing an image of Taylor, captioning it with:
"She is the immortal of boxing. Get up there my girl @katie_t86."
The Bray-native seems confident about her mandatory fight against Sharipova and said being unmotivated isn't a factor that concerns her.
Tyson Fury on Katie Taylor: ‘She Is the Immortal of Boxing’ https://t.co/OV92YiHw1b
— EssentiallySports (@es_sportsnews) December 9, 2021
"I just love staying sharp, really," Taylor said.
"You can do all the sparring in the world, but nothing is ever the same as actually stepping into the ring and actually fighting.
“I've never, ever found it hard to actually get up and keep myself motivated for these mandates. I do understand that these girls are coming for all my belts and we're going to see the best of these opponents every time they step into the ring with me.
"You see it all the time in boxing where fighters have a flat performance and they fail to hold onto their belts. So, I can never, ever get complacent. I'm so aware of that.”
Sofya Ochigava, who beat the Irish fighter in the gold medal match at the 2012 London Olympics believes Sharipova is capable of ending her unbeaten record. She has taken on her advice.
She said:
“No one else knows how to fight Taylor like Sofya Ochigava. Therefore, not only I, Firuza Sharipova, will be in the ring against Taylor, but the intelligence of Sofya Ochigava, who has prepared me very well for this fight, will be with me.
“Sofya has been in my camp from the very beginning, has passed on all her knowledge to me and has done her best to help me defeat Katie Taylor.
“I watched their fight in the final of the Olympic Games and I’m sure that the judges helped Taylor. Sofya knocked her down, which wasn’t counted. Sofya was better in the fight, she won it.
“Taylor is usually not afraid of anyone, but in that final fight, Sophia saw fear in her eyes. Even now, Taylor refuses to fight Sofya.”
Taylor's fight against Sharipova can be seen live on DAZN on Saturday 11 December as part of a main card double bill which will also see Conor Benn fight Chris Algieri.
