Have you heard of the female boxer who made history in the boxing world? Katie Taylor is the first boxer to hold all four world titles in boxing at the same time.
Katie Taylor
Let’s see how she got from footballer to professional boxing champion!
The Background of Katie Taylor
Born and raised in an impoverished town in north Bray County, Ireland, Katie Taylor is the youngest child of Bridget and Peter, having one older sister and two older brothers.
Boxing has always been part of Katie's life; her father became an Irish senior light heavyweight champion boxer in 1986, the year Katie was born, and later a full-time boxing coach. Her mother, Bridget, also embraced boxing and became one of Ireland's earliest female judges and referees.
Starting her career as a footballer
Katie began training at 11 years old with her father, who immediately recognized his daughter's potential and passion for sports. She took part in sports activities at school and played association football; also, Katie played camogie with her local GAA clubs and ladies' Gaelic football.
While studying at St. Killian, Katie was offered several scholarships, but Taylor chose to attend University College Dublin, renowned for its sports scholarship program. However, as her career took off, she never completed her studies.
Switching to boxing
After being trained for four years by her father, she first participated in the first officially sanctioned female boxing match in 2001, held at the National Stadium in Dublin, where she defeated Alanna Audley from Belfast on a sixteen-bout amateur card.
Katie won over three 90-second rounds with a final score of 23-12. Dominic O'Rourke, the Irish Amateur Boxing Association President, remembers the event as "a momentous day for Irish boxing."
She continued competing in the following years throughout Europe, having by her side her father at all times. Katie Taylor made Irish boxing history in 2005, at the age of only 18, when she was titled the first Irish woman to win a Gold Medal at the Senior European Championships in Tønsberg, Norway, against Eva Wahlström of Finland. She defeated Eva in the third round of their 60-kg lightweight final.
The highlight of Katie Taylor
Katie continued competing, and in 2012, she qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which took place in London; this was the first year when female boxers could take part in the Olympic Games.
Katie Taylor made her way through the finals, and she won her first Olympic Gold Medal and Ireland's first gold medal defeating Sofya Ochigava. Here is the moment Katie Taylor became the first Olympic female lightweight champion.
Throughout her amateur boxing career, Katie Taylor obtained the Women's World Championships five consecutive gold medals, gold six times in the European Championships, and five times at the European Union Championships.
Personal life
Katie has always been a very private person, devoting her life to her one true passion - boxing. She dedicates her time to training and bettering her skills every single day. After 2012, she became renowned, and fame did not elude her. However, these years were only the first steps of her prosperous path in boxing.
Losing her father
In 2016, Katie's father decided to leave the family. This significant change impacted her tremendously, facing the drama of losing her father, her trainer, and mentor. She repeatedly declared that competing without her father by her side felt like boxing without her right arm.
Thus, later that year, Katie Taylor suffered a loss against Mira Potkonen in the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Katie's boxing revival
Finding herself at a crossroads, Katie knew she had to continue fighting and decided to change her path. That's when she contacted Ross Enamait, the man who would change her life completely.
Meeting the man who changed Katie’s world
Enamait is a former amateur fighter who resigned due to several hand injuries. Even though he turned his life around, choosing a finance career, boxing stayed with him. He started training amateur fighters, publishing books, and making training DVDs. Katie Taylor emailed him, asking if he would train her in Connecticut, where he resided. At first, Enamait did not know much about Taylor. He knew about her but never watched her fighting, but he was surprised someone would be willing to travel the world to pick up training with him.
Katie did not know she wanted to go pro when she got to Connecticut. All she wanted was to change the female boxing world. She knew she had the ambition, talent, and focus to achieve more extraordinary things. After only three weeks of training with Enamait, she returned to Ireland and reached out to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Embracing the transition to a professional
Eddie Hearn met Katie Taylor and decided to support becoming professional and achieving her goal of reinventing female boxing. Even though he seemed sceptical at first, he decided to give Katie Taylor a chance.
She moved to Connecticut to train with Enamait, and after six years, 20 wins, and many titles in two weight divisions, Katie Taylor is still in Connecticut, alongside Enamait. On 26 November 2016, Katie Taylor made her official debut as a professional at the Wembley Arena in London, scoring a third-round TKO (technical knockout).
Fighting her way to the top of professionals
In November 2020, Katie Taylor was ranked as the world's best active female lightweight according to BoxRec. The Ring offered her the title of the best active female boxer, as well. CasinoAlpha ranked her as number #5 in the best female boxers list.
Associations Katie has been a part of
Association Year
WBA (World Boxing Association) 2017
IBF (International Boxing Federation) 2018
WBO (World Boxing Organization) 2019
WBC (World Boxing Council) 2019
However, apart from all the titles, Katie Taylor scored significant wins throughout her pro career, giving female boxing a new meaning.
Since the beginning of her career, Katie kept herself on the first place in many boxing events such as:
● Olympic Games - one time;
● World Championships - five times;
● European Championships -six times;
● European Games - one time;
● EU Championships - five times.
Her aggressive and fast-paced boxing style made her known all over the world. However, she claims her trainer is very old school.
Where is Katie Taylor in 2022?
Last month, Katie Taylor retained the undisputed lightweight title after defeating Amanda Serrano in Madison Square Garden in front of hundreds of fans. Currently, there are talks about a rematch against Serrano, but no official statement has been released.
Private life
Katie lives a secluded life in Vernon, a small town located around 150km outside Boston, and still prioritizes boxing while juggling days spent in the gym training and time with her family. She declared she loves living in the U.S as she prizes her privacy while pursuing her career. Thus, she moved into a house hidden by the woods in a rural area.
Katie Taylor is the voice of the female boxers' generation
Moving across the world and dedicating her life to her passion, Katie Taylor's life story describes a true champion. She is an inspiration and an icon to the upcoming generations of female boxers. She pushed to have women's boxing legalized in Ireland and got the sport into the Olympics.
All in all, these efforts made Katie Taylor the boxing champion she is today.
Tagged in Boxing