Katie Taylor – World Champion
So Katie Taylor has reached the pinnacle of her sport in the professional ranks by winning her first World Title after a win in the Principality Stadium on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s World Title defence.
Just over a year after Katie Taylor introduced herself to the World with an impressive win in her opening contest, she is a World Champion. Like every time she has gone into the ring, nothing broke her focus, not even the fact her opponent had missed the weight two different times which meant Taylor was the only one that could have won that World title last night.
This brave Bray lady has done so much for her sport at amateur level and now in the professional game. She is the poster girl for the sport of boxing and although some people still cannot stomach the idea of a woman boxing or being involved in a physical sport, you cannot but be moved by this lady, her courage, honesty and desire along with her deep faith that has kept her in good stead for the challenges she has faced over the years.
She has of course received the congratulations of the nation from An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Michael D Higgins. She had ploughed a lonely furrow over the last 12 months slogging it out in different places and arenas along with the long hard hours of training that has led to this moment of glory in the Principality Stadium Cardiff.
It may not have been a home venue in the conventional sense but in sport Ireland have achieved some historic moments in that city in recent years, winning a Grand Slam in 2009 and most recently making sure of a World Cup Playoff spot by beating Wales 1-0 in the nearby Cardiff City Stadium. So the Welsh capital has been kind to Ireland.
So we now have the very distinct possibility of a homecoming bout sometime next year for Katie Taylor, her manager is Brian Peters and you can be sure he and promoter Eddie Hearn have a plan in mind for a homecoming fight in Dublin.
Given her pulling power it will be interesting to see where any possible fight would take place, The 3 Arena could be the ideal venue but I am sure they will explore every avenue to get the best venue for boxers, supporters and anyone else that may want to see a World title fight involving Ireland’s golden girl.
It was great to see Katie enjoying her victory with her family. Her Mom made her way into the ring and joined in the celebrations. Huge congratulations Katie on another fine victory, you again have highlighted women’s sport and how important it is. Onward to your next challenge now….
By
Cian Mc Gibney
29/10/2017