High praise for ‘humble icon’ who made the sport ‘feel like a space where women belong unquestionably’
Throughout the week of build-up to Katie Taylor’s final bout, the word “legacy” has been bandied about quite a lot.
Win, lose, or draw on Saturday night, the sporting legacy of the Bray boxer has long since been cemented with 176 wins and 18 gold medals as an amateur.
Not to mention a near-perfect 25-1 record as a professional, and an undisputed champion in two weight classes.
Those numbers pale in comparison, though, to the kind of legacy the fighter herself spoke about at Tuesday’s pre-fight press conference at The Helix in Dublin.
Taylor, albeit laser-focused on the task at hand against Flora Pili, was also conscious of the ripple effect that will follow from her last fight.
“It’s going to be such a special night, a remarkable night,” she said. “There’ll be enough time to reflect afterwards, there’ll be enough time to reflect on this amazing career after my hand is raised, but I obviously wouldn’t be human if I didn’t think about it all.
“I’m imagining all the thousands of stories from the little girls who are at a boxing event for the first time on Saturday evening.
“In my mind’s eye, I’m imagining one of those girls might fall in love with this beautiful sport [and] might even surpass my achievements. That’s what legacy is all about.”
The type of legacy Taylor (40) spoke about was right in front of her on Tuesday afternoon. Behind the cameras, in the rafters of Mahony Hall in The Helix, the crowd was largely made up of girls and their families, cheering, applauding and waving Tricolours.
Dundalk boxer Amy Broadhurst, a European and World Championship gold medallist, is one of the many Irish women who drew inspiration from Taylor.
She also built a personal connection with the Bray Bomber, becoming her sparring partner ahead of the bout against Amanda Serrano in 2022.
“I don’t remember life before Katie,” she said. “I started boxing when I was five, and she’s always been there.
“She’s always been this icon for female boxing. Being on the team with her in 2013, everyone just gathered around to watch Katie because of the standard she set.
“I would never be a European or world champion if it wasn’t for Katie,” she said, adding that Taylor is the “one who went and fought for boxing to be in the Olympics”.
At the beginning of fight week, Broadhurst shared a post on her Instagram thanking Taylor for being a role model throughout her career, and crediting her for the impact she has had for female fighters.
“She’s the one that went out and showed women are at the standard of some of the men,” she said.
“So, when I put that post up the other day and I said she is the reason female boxing is where it is, it’s because of her, and that wasn’t me just saying it to be nice.
“If Katie Taylor didn’t exist, boxing wouldn’t exist for women, and I really, really believe that.”
With the end of Taylor’s career coming into view, Broadhurst said she was delighted for everything she had achieved, but it would also be a sad occasion when she made that final ring walk.
“I was watching that [promotional] video with Barry Keoghan with a tear in my eye. It’s going to be sad to actually watch someone that’s done so much for the sport finally retire.
“For the young girls coming up, for myself and everyone who’s watched her over the years, she’s been nothing but a positive role model. There’s no one that deserves Croke Park more than Katie.”
Head trainer at Dublin’s Celtic Warrior Gym, Packie Collins, was working in the US when Taylor was still in the midst of her amateur career.
“I wouldn’t have been too aware of what was happening in Ireland, but I did hear her name. Even when I was in America, through the amateur scene, Katie Taylor’s name was being mentioned,” he said.
It was Taylor’s good character that convinced Mr Collins she was set to have a positive influence on boxing at large.
“I hadn’t a clue how Katie’s career was going to go, but when I saw the person she was, her character, she was very humble and brave. I thought it was good for boxing,” he said.
Mr Collins reflected on the boxing scene he experienced in the US, a space that was not just male-dominated, but exclusively male. “In the early ‘90s, the gyms in America were men-only gyms,” he said.
“They were old-fashioned gyms and there were no women. If my wife came to pick me up, she sat and waited outside.
“I grew up in that mentality, but after Katie became an Olympian, it was different. Now, all the gyms are full of young girls, full of women doing boxing classes.”
Similar to how Taylor’s success paved the way for the likes of Broadhurst, Lisa O’Rourke and Kellie Harrington in amateur boxing, Mr Collins said her time as a professional had set a perfect example for the boxers he trained.
“Katie has had the same people around her, and like her, they’re all humble, and it keeps Katie humble, because our friends and family will always be 100pc honest with us,” he said.
“I tell all my boxers in the gym to keep the same people around them and stay grounded, because you’re going up the ladder, and you can come down as quick.
“That’s the one thing that has stuck with me about Katie. She’s humble no matter what.”
Sean Headon, a former Leinster and Irish champion boxer, co-founded the Headon Boxing Academy with his twin brother Paddy.
Across five studios around Dublin, the business tries to make the sport accessible to people who want to use it to keep fit in a social, no-contact environment.
Mr Headon said 65pc of Headon Boxing Academy clients were now women.
“For me, the effect Katie Taylor has had is on the perception around boxing. She’s had a huge influence on that,” he said.
“She hasn’t necessarily made every woman that comes to our gym want to be a competitive boxer, but she’s made boxing feel like a space where women belong unquestionably, and it’s not just a male-dominated sport.”
Mr Headon said the full impact of Taylor’s career had been evident as the fight drew closer.
Conversation in the gyms has largely centred around the big night at Croke Park, even among those with little interest in boxing beyond their recreation at the academy.
“I’d be a big boxing fan, watching every week, but a lot of our members wouldn’t be coming up to me week-to-week talking about fights. It’s not mainstream, even a lot of male boxing,” Mr Headon said.
“But, this week, loads of our female members who have never been to a boxing match before are all going to see Katie Taylor, or they are watching it on RTÉ. She’s just really captured the imagination of the whole country.
“From a recreational and fitness point of view, people associate boxing with women so much more because of Katie.
“Women are a lot quicker to try on a pair of boxing gloves, and they get to experience all the benefits that come from boxing because of her.”