Katie Taylor could have a huge fight ahead against Claressa Shields’ protégé: ‘She’s proven herself on the big stage’

Katie Taylor urged to defend WBA crown against mandatory challenger

The proud holder of the WBC, WBO, IBO, IBF, and The Ring championships at the light welterweight limit, Taylor’s WBA crown has come under charge by the governing body’s mandatory challenger.

Namely, unbeaten interim WBA super lightweight champion Samantha Worthington has been floated as a potential challenger to Taylor’s title next if the Irish striker is to return.

Boasting the support of mentor Claressa Shields — the Olympic gold medalist and heavyweight queen may see her long-time teammate Worthington challenge for Taylor’s championship next.

“Samantha (Worthington) is one of the top super-lightweights in the world, Dmitriy Salita, the promoter of Worthington, told Sky Sports. “Her recent performances, especially under the guidance of Claressa’s team and renowned trainer John David Jackson, show tremendous growth.

“She’s proven herself on the big stage – both as an amateur and a pro – and her progression in the last two fights has been nothing short of remarkable,” Salita explained.

However, another potential foe for Taylor is quite the familiar one — a fighter she shared her most recent card with.

Katie Taylor challenged to showdown by Alycia Baumgardner

On the undercard of Taylor’s third career win over Serrano, 31-year-old super featherweight queen Alycia Baumgardner improved her unbeaten run in boxing to an eye-catching 18 fights.

Retaining her WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA, IBO, and The Ring super featherweight crowns, the undisputed Baumgardner played up a potential future move to fight Taylor — confirming she “wants to” fight the Wicklow megastar.

However, despite Baumgardner’s demands, it seems any sort of future pairing depends entirely on whether or not Taylor elects to continue in her gleaming professional career.