Not even the temptation of the biggest fight to be made among female fighters can distract Katie Taylor from the task at hand.

The undisputed lightweight queen and high-ranking pound-for pound entrant prepares for her 14th major title fight and 20th overall pro bout, which comes versus Kazakhstan’s Firuza Sharipova. The mandatory WBA title defense takes place this Saturday live on DAZN (1:00 pm ET/6:00 pm GMT) from M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, where Taylor (19-0, 6KOs)—the superstar talent from Bray, Ireland—is expecting a huge support system.

With a win, Taylor is expected to move towards a long-sought superfight with record-setting seven-division titlist Amanda Serrano (42-1-1, 31KOs). The two have separate fights one week apart before being expected to collide next spring, likely at Madison Square Garden in New York City and both earning massive paydays for the event.

First up, however, is the most important fight in Taylor’s career—the one in front of her.

“I’m definitely not overlooking it,” Taylor told BoxingScene.com. “Everyone keeps asking about these big fights that I have ahead, that could happen next year. There are some huge mega fights out there for me to have in 2022. Some huge fights to really feed the appetite of women’s boxing as well.

“This is why I can’t overlook anyone. I can’t overlook any single opponent. I have to get past Sharipova this Saturday in order to make those other fights happen.”

Taylor has emerged as the face of women’s boxing since her celebrated pro debut a little more than five years ago at Wembley’s SSE Arena in London.

Just eleven months into her pro career, Taylor—a two-time Olympian for Ireland and 2012 Olympic Gold medalist—claimed her first major title, following a ten-round decision over Anahi Sanchez to win the WBA lightweight belt. Saturday will already mark her 12th title defense of that belt, three of which have come in title unification bouts. A hard-fought ten-round win over long-reigning WBC lightweight champ Delfine Persoon in June 2019 saw Taylor emerge as the undisputed champ, outpointing her in slightly more convincing fashion last August.

The rematch with Persoon was since followed by two mandatory title defenses along with another rematch of sorts. Taylor faced old amateur rival Natasha Jonas this past May, outlasting the Brit en route to a hard-fought ten-round decision win at AO Arena in Manchester. A far easier time came of her last fight, a ten-round shutout of former featherweight titlist Jennifer Han this past September in front of a raucous crowd in Leeds, England.

Sharipova (14-1, 8KOs) might not draw the same attention and notoriety as potential future rivals for Taylor. It’s easy for the media and fans to look ahead to fights with Serrano, two-division and reigning undisputed welterweight champ Jessica McCaskill (11-2, 4KOs)—whom Taylor outpointed in a lightweight title fight in 2017—or even unified WBC/IBF junior welterweight titlist Chantelle Cameron (15-0, 8KOs).

For now, Sharipova poses the biggest threat to Taylor as the opponent standing in the way of the legacy-defining fights she craves. The 27-year-old Kazakh contender has not lost since dropping a four-round decision in her May 2016 pro debut in Moscow. The setback came at the capable hands of Sofia Ochigava (5-0, 1KO), who is best known for her Olympic Silver medal run in 2012, losing to Taylor in the lightweight finals.

Fourteen straight wins have followed for Sharipova, a two-time national amateur champion who has knocked out four of her last five opponents to date.

“She’s got a good amateur pedigree as well. She’s a busy fighter, she has a good engine,” notes Taylor. “It’s going to make for an exciting fight. She always comes to fight. She’s obviously here to win. I feel like I’m well-prepared for Saturday night, it’s all that’s on my mind right now and I’m not overlooking it.”

Taylor-Sharipova shares the stage with a welterweight bout between second-generation boxer Conor Benn (19-0, 12KOs) and former junior welterweight titlist Chris Algieri (25-3, 9KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox