Katie Taylor to return to the ring on August 22

Unified lightweight champion Katie Taylor will have her first outing of the year in the UK on August 22 as part of Eddie Hearn's Fight Camp Series in Essex.
Katie Taylor to return to the ring on August 22

Katie Taylor will feature as part of Eddie Hearn's Fight Camp Series in Essex in August.
Katie Taylor will feature as part of Eddie Hearn's Fight Camp Series in Essex in August.

Unified lightweight champion Katie Taylor will have her first outing of the year in the UK on August 22 as part of Eddie Hearn's Fight Camp Series in Essex.

But her opponent remains unknown following a row over purses with Puerto Rican southpaw Amanda Serrano.

Serrano and team are claiming that their purse was cut by 50% and said the fight was off with Belgium's Deline Persoon saying she's willing to step in as a replacement.

The Flanders police officer was controversially beaten by Taylor at Madison Square Garden last summer and is itching for a rematch with the London 2012 gold medallist.

Taylor will be putting her IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO titles on the line over ten rounds at Hearn's estate in Essex.

Hearn, who promotes Taylor, had said earlier this week that the Taylor versus Serrano fight, initially scheduled for the Manchester Arena but cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, was good to go.

"The fight is on," Hearn said. "It's no secret that we don't have a crowd anymore, and that fight was supposed to take place in front of 15,000 people at Manchester Arena."

However, the fact that Taylor's opponent has yet to be confirmed suggests that talks are still ongoing with Serrano and Persoon.

Former world amateur finalist Jason Quigley will also fight on the same bill as Taylor. The Donegal middleweight meets England's Jack Cullen. Taylor's former Irish team-mate Eric Donovan is included in one of Hearn's Fight Camp Series shows on August 14. The Kildare featherweight meets Commonwealth titlist Zelfa Barrett in a fight which marks a step up in class for the Irishman but also a huge opportunity to impress over ten rounds.

Meanwhile Roberto Duran, the Panamanian six-time boxing world champion has been hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus, his children have said on the same day that Panama hit a new record of daily cases.

“Test results have just arrived for my dad, and they confirm he is positive for COVID-19,” the legendary fighter’s son Robin Duran said on Instagram.

“Thank God for now he doesn’t have symptoms beyond a cold. He is not in intensive care nor on a respirator, just under observation,” he added.

Robin Duran had posted hours before that the 69-year-old had been hospitalised as a precaution for a “respiratory virus,” which turned out to be COVID-19.

“We just spoke to the doctor who told us that his lungs are fine and there are no indications of severe (illness),” Robin Duran said. “We continue to have faith that everything will be OK.”

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