Karriss Artingstall ready to step up as she faces unbeaten Jade Taylor in Bournemouth
Watch Karriss Artingsall face Jade Taylor on the undercard of Lawrence Okolie vs Chris Billam-Smith in Bournemouth - live on Sky Sports on Saturday May 27
Friday 12 May 2023 12:41, UK
Karriss Artingstall is relishing a move up to eight rounds as she plans to "break down" unbeaten opponent Jade Taylor in Bournemouth later this month.
The Olympian is a perfect 3-0 in her young professional career after a six-round points victory over Linzi Buczynskyj at the end of March.
She deems her last outing another valuable step in her development, with the busyness and willingness of Buczynskyj to engage drawing out the best of the 28-year-old.
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"She came to fight, she came to win. She didn't just come to tuck up and run away," Artingstall told Sky Sports.
"That's where I'll perform better as well. If I've got shots coming back on me and I've got to stay switched on… I'll realise I'm in a fight. Not just here to have a win handed over to me. I had to put the effort in in the fight. It wasn't just a walkover. She didn't just like hand it over to me, so it was good. It was a good night of boxing for myself.
"I believe she [Taylor] will be similar to my previous opponent, I believe it was a very close fight between them both."
Taylor was also victorious against Buczynskyj last April and enters her fight with Artingstall 5-0 as a professional.
"We're both there to win," Artingstall continued. "Jade's not experienced defeat yet so she's probably feeling supremely confident and she's on a roll etc and she's obviously taken this fight thinking she's going to go 6-0, so I'm expecting a good fight.
"I'm fit enough to do 10 [rounds] now. The way my style is I think I break people down as the fight goes on as well. When I finished that [last] fight, I could have done more rounds, without a doubt. But I had to settle for six.
"This is eight [rounds], then I probably do another eight and then I look at doing a 10-rounder towards the back of the year maybe."
Artingstall remains in the process of studying her upcoming opponent, but has zero doubts over extending the unbeaten start to her career.
"I back myself 100 per cent every time I step into the ring," she added. "I know I train hard. I know I put the graft in, so I know when the time comes and the date arrives, I'm walking into that ring, the closer I'm getting to the ring, the more confident I'm getting.
"And once that bell goes and a jab or one-two's been thrown by my opponent and I've felt it, that's it, I'm just full steam ahead then. My confidence goes through the roof. Because I know I've put the hard work in.
"I just enjoy it and I'll start to show the stuff I've been working on in the gym as the rounds go by."
The Tokyo bronze medallist features on the undercard of Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith's headline fight for the WBC cruiserweight title, the latter of whom will be greeted as a crowd favourite.
"It was great to fight close to home [last time], I think this one will be an absolute belter as well," said Artingstall.
"Chris Billam-Smith, he's quite the man isn't he down in Bournemouth. I believe he'll have a few people there, he's fighting for a world title so it's a great opportunity and chance for all his fans to get behind him. It's a different kind of destination. I think it'll be a cracking night."
