Katie Taylor

Not to be confused with American former figure skater Katy Taylor, Katie ‘The Bray Bomber’ Taylor is an Irish professional boxer who, at the time of writing, has the distinction of being undisputed world lightweight champion. Born in Bray, County Wicklow, hence her nickname, but based in Connecticut in the United States, Taylor, 35, currently defends a perfect 21-0 record, including six knockouts, since making her professional debut in November, 2016. Most recently, she outpointed Puerta Rican Amanda Serrano, by split decision, at Madison Square Garden, New York on April 30, 2022 to retain her WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Taylor remains one of just eight boxers, of either sex, to have held all four major world titles at the same time.

Taylor was also a prolific winner as an amateur. She made her debut against Northern Irishwoman Alanna Nihell (née Audley-Murphy) at the National Stadium, Dublin, in what was, in fact, the first officially sanctioned women’s boxing match on Irish soil, on October 31, 2001, winning on points. In her amateur boxing career as a a whole, Taylor compiled a record of 175-12-1, with highlights including six gold medals at the European Amateur Boxing Championships, five gold medals at the European Union Amateur Boxing Championships and another five at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which included women’s boxing for the first time, Taylor defeated Russian Sofya Ochigava 10-8 in the gold medal match to become the inaugural Olympic women’s lightweight champion.

In May, 2022, she was honoured by the IBA with the accolade of ‘Outstanding Boxer’ for her role in promoting women’s boxing. Although yet to be confirmed, at the time of writing, Taylor is set to make her home professional debut, in a rematch with Amanda Serrano, at Croke Park, Dublin in October, 2022.