It’s been a very long time since we saw live professional boxing on free-to-air TV in Ireland, but RTÉ 2 will be showing Katie Taylor’s final fight against unbeaten French fighter Flora Pili at Croke Park on Saturday night.
If you’ve just been waiting for an Irish fighter to show up on your telly, then you probably haven’t seen a fight since Bernard Dunne retired. If that’s the case, then you might need to brush up on the sweet science.
Not to worry though, as with just a few handy bits of jargon you’ll be right there, shouting at your television as if you know more about boxing than one of the greatest fighters of all time – like you do with every other sport.
Taylor will probably make her ringwalk after 10pm, but there’s plenty of Irish fighters in action on the undercard from 8pm onwards, so you’ll have time to test out your new vocab before you’re ready to impress your friends during the main event.
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First, know your punches
Much like a boxer in the early rounds of a fight, first you’ll want to establish a rhythm. Test out some phrases you already know, such as jab”, “cross”, “hook” and “uppercut”. If you don’t know those already, then there’s a lot to learn before Saturday.
‘Be first’
This is a nice, simple one to throw out when the boxers are standing at range, catching a breather and looking for an opening to exploit. After all, you want the judges to see that Taylor is the one with all the energy, bringing the fight to her challenger.
‘Finish the exchange’
On the other hand, the last thing you want is Pili finishing up an exchange of punches with a nice, clean shot, creating a lasting impression in the judges’ minds. Make sure you call for Katie to finish trading blows with her signature left hook.
‘Keep her turning’
One of Katie’s biggest strengths is her footwork, especially her “check hooks”, where she throws a hook and pivots away from her oncoming opponent at the same time. These have been very important in her previous fights against pressure fighters such as Pili.
For advanced learners, you might want to throw out the phrase “ring generalship” for some extra credit. One of the criteria for scoring a professional fight, it means controlling where the action takes place, whether that’s by dancing around your opponent on the backfoot or by forcing them into the corners while on the attack.
‘10-9 round for Taylor!’
Speaking of the scoring criteria, some expert will no doubt be scoring the fights on TV as they go along, and you’ll naturally be left wondering how both fighters have nearly 100 points each.
Professional boxing is scored by awarding 10 points to the winner of a round, and nine to the loser. That goes down to eight if the loser is knocked down once in the round, seven if they’re knocked down twice, and so on.
Play along at home and randomly interject with “I have it 59-55” after six rounds to the bafflement (and admiration) of everyone else with you.
‘Work the body’
Taylor has the propensity to headhunt, throwing all her big punches upstairs and neglecting the body. Although it can be difficult to get in range for these blows, it’ll be important for her to slow down her younger challenger early on.
Make sure to call for a few body shots each round, and you could even emphasise your knowledge with a specific blow; “left hook to the liver, Katie!”
‘Ah pump the jab!’
Katie has a habit of getting embroiled in all-out wars rather than sticking to her old-school Olympic boxing skills. This means she can sometimes neglect her jab in favour of throwing her signature lightning combinations.
There’s an old phrase in boxing, “the right hand will take you around the block, but a good jab will take you around the world”, which sums up the importance of the punch pretty succinctly, even if hooks and crosses look flashier.
‘There’s levels to this game’
This is a line often repeated by cocky world champions as they head into fights with less experienced contenders. Katie is probably too nice to say it herself, so you can say it for her instead.
Pilli is undefeated and looks like a good fighter, but her record doesn’t hold a candle to Taylor’s, who has beaten some of the best fighters of the last 20 years such as Amanda Serrano, Chantelle Cameron and Delfine Persoon.
And with that, you should have plenty to keep you going through the 10 rounds, as you expertly guide Katie home to a (hopefully) successful final fight from the comfort of your couch at home.