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02 April 2020

Undisputed champion Katie Taylor says coronavirus lockdown allows her to 'spend more time with God'

Undisputed lightweight world champion Katie Taylor has revealed she is using the coronavirus lockdown as an opportunity to 'spend more time with God'.

The 33 year-old Irish superstar was scheduled to take on Amanda Serrano in Manchester on May 2 on the undercard of Dillian Whyte v Alexander Povetkin, but the show was postponed earlier this week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet despite the delay and disruption the postponement will have caused Taylor, who was deep into training camp, she is confident the predicament can be turned into a positive.

Speaking on an Instagram Live with promoter Eddie Hearn, she said: "I have obviously been over here for the last few months training for May 2, but this is a time for me to work on a few things now.

"This isn't a time for anybody to take their foot off the gas. It's a going to pay off for the fighters who are disciplined right now...You can turn this into a positive and actually try to work on a few things. And when the boxing world does get back I'm going to be ready for whatever that fight date is.

"This is literally the best fighting the best, it's the fight everyone wants to see. It's a very, very exciting fight, not just in women's boxing but boxing as a whole. It is a dangerous fight for both of us but it's also a career-changing fight for both of us as well. It's going to be absolutely huge. Whoever wins this fight is going to be cemented as the No. 1 pound-for-pound in women's boxing."

The Whyte-Povetkin show has been re-scheduled for July 4, however it is has not yet been confirmed whether Taylor-Serrano will still feature on the bill.

And while the Bray-born fighter waits for a new fight date, she has opened up about how the lockdown situation has enabled her to dedicate more time to her Christianity, which she has carried with her throughout her career.

"It's obviously awful what is happening with the coronavirus, the whole world is on lockdown right now," she added.

"But there's a lot of good things that are happening as well. People's lives have been forced to slow down, they have to reconnect with their families again. Even online there are church services saturated online every weekend.

"For me it's a time to spend more time with God. Read his word, read the bible. That's mental health for me, I get great comfort from that.

"I've always said from a very, very young age that's where my confidence comes from and where my strength comes from. That's why I don't need to talk trash before these big fights because from a very early age I loved the bible verse which says 'in quietness and trust is my strength'."

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