WBC/WBA 140lbs champion Jessica McCaskill is eyeing a rematch with Irish star Katie Taylor.
The all-action McCaskill steps up in weight to face undisputed 147lbs champion Cecilia Braekhus on the streets of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday (August 15) and hopes victory will propel her towards a return with Taylor who outpointed her back in December 2017.
McCaskill’s bustling performance against lightweight Taylor illustrated her threat at world level, which she later underlined by winning the WBA and WBC crowns at 140lbs.
Chicago’s McCaskill (8-2, 3 KOs) would love that fight again as she plots an ambitious path against the leading names in women’s boxing.
“I would love the Taylor rematch and a chance to get my revenge, and definitely in a place like Wembley Stadium on a huge bill,” saidMcCaskill. “If we have fans again that stadium has 100,000 people and that’s the kind of crowd that needs to be at that kind of fight. I have my eyes on Taylor and I want that fight.
“Going to the UK for the Taylor fight, I didn’t know what to expect but it turns out that we have a ton of fans in the UK. I still hear from the UK fans on a regular basis and from the airport to the hotel to the venue, there were so many people that reached out and showed love to me and my team. Katie said that people were scared to fight her and of course, we weren’t, we took it and we learned that we were at that level.”
Of course, McCaskill would need to upset Braekhus and hope Taylor overcomes her old rival Delfine Persoon at Matchroom’s Fight Camp on August 22 for any rematch to demand the maximum profile and purse.
“I was in New York for the first Taylor-Persoon fight and it was massive,” said McCaskill. “There was a lot of contact and it was a lesson for Taylor that you cannot take people lightly, it was a close fight and she could’ve been on the wrong side of the result. I think the second fight will be another classic.
“There are a lot of people that are responsible for the rise of female boxing. Eddie Hearn has put a lot of money into female boxing and DAZN has been a great platform for us to perform on.
“The Taylor fight was probably meant to be that way, nobody knew who we were, our background and our history, winning that fight could have probably massively disrupted the growth of women’s boxing. I don’t think anyone would’ve put a lot of money into me not knowing who I was. So, after Taylor won that fight, they put a lot of time and effort into Taylor and things developed from there.”
Braekhus-McCaskill will be broadcast live on DAZN in the US.
Main image: Matchroom.