KATIE Taylor helped inspire a generation of female boxers — but her career only started by pure chance.
Taylor literally fought for women to compete at Olympics after performing in front of officials in showcase bouts.
Her dad Peter was an Irish light-heavyweight champion, while brothers Pete and Lee boxed at the Bray club.
It was only when Taylor’s running training got rained off that she went down to her local St Fergal’s Boxing Club to try it out for herself.
And by the time her dad found out, she was already in the ring sparring with boys in the gym.
Ahead of her epic trilogy fight with Amanda Serrano in the early hours of this Saturday, Taylor, 39, explained: “I couldn’t wait to spar — I already had the headgear on.
“I just remember going to the gym and my dad looked around and I was already sparring. I always knew how to throw a punch, maybe it was years of watching my dad shadow boxing, but obviously much coaching was needed as well.
“I had good raw materials there and couldn’t wait to get in there and fight. I think it was always part of who I am — it’s in my blood to be a fighter.”
Taylor was just 12 when she first started boxing and immediately earned the backing of her dad.
But they had to pretend she was a boy at first by pushing her ponytail into her headguard and going by the alias K Taylor.
Her future was determined from the moment she walked into the gym — maybe accidentally on purpose — even falling in love with the club’s smell.
Taylor, who also has 11 caps for Ireland in football, added: “I don’t think I ever really thought I was going to be a boxer.
“I just always knew how to fight and how to throw a punch, where to put my hands, where to stand. That was just part of my make-up. But I don’t think my parents, or anyone in my family, really thought I was ever going to be a fighter.
“But the minute I set foot in a boxing ring, that first day, I just fell in love with the sport and boxing gym. Just the atmosphere in the gym, seeing the guys sparring and hitting the bags, that was the start of the journey for me.”
Taylor made history in 2001, aged 15, when she boxed Alanna Audley in the first officially-sanctioned female boxing match in Ireland.
OLYMPIC TRAILBLAZER
But still a problem lingered for Taylor and so many other girls — there was no room for women’s boxing at the Olympic Games. In a bid to change the landscape of the sport forever, Taylor was selected to box in front of the International Olympic Committee.
She travelled to Chicago in 2007 and Saint Petersburg two years later — with the hopes of every young female fighter on her shoulders.
And after impressing IOC officials women’s boxing was officially added into the London 2012 Games, where Taylor won gold.
But earning the right for females to box at the Olympics meant much more than that 18oz medal, or any world title she won as a pro.
Taylor said: “People talk about the pressure today but it’s nothing in comparison to the pressure I felt then. Then, I’m not just fighting for myself — but for every female fighter for boxing at the Olympic Games.
“I knew that I just had to perform in those fights because this was more important than myself. So, those were huge pressure fights and what I’m experiencing today is nothing in comparison.”
Taylor qualified for the 2016 Olympics as a hot favourite — but was stunned by defeat to Finland’s Mira Potkonen in the opening bout. She turned pro months later, embarking on the next chapter of her already illustrious story.
Taylor became lightweight world champ in under a year and just seven bouts — since becoming undisputed in two divisions. But perhaps the opponent that will define her career more than anyone is Puerto Rican great Serrano.
TAYLOR 2-0 SERRANO
Taylor beat seven-weight champion Serrano, 36, in their 2022 classic at Madison Square Garden — both earning historic $1.5million paydays.
Their rematch last November in Texas in front of 70,000 was equally epic and controversial, with Taylor again getting the disputed decision.
Now, they will meet one last time — at New York’s famed MSG again — in the early hours of Saturday.
And Taylor explained: “The nature of both our styles means it’s always going to produce epic fights, it’s just who we are. I can’t imagine the third fight will be much different.
“The fights just keep getting better and better between us so I imagine that the trilogy will be as exciting — hopefully not too exciting!
“But just the nature of who we are, it’s always going to be an absolutely great fight.”
