Katie Taylor returns to the ring on Saturday at Wembley Arena
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Katie Taylor has now been a regal presence in the boxing game for over two decades.
This Saturday, at the old arena down Wembley Way, the dignified and unified world lightweight champion goes back to work.
Taylor had to pretend she was a boy when she first laced on the gloves; she stopped pretending soon after that and has refused all efforts ever since to be somebody she is not. She is Katie Taylor boxer, keeper of the sport’s moral higher ground and not a social media diva.
Taylor has fought 21 times as a professional boxer, won every single time she has stepped through the ropes and Saturday’s fight will be her seventh defence of all four versions of the lightweight title. In a game of throwing stones, Taylor has simply refused to make claims and declarations.
On Saturday, Taylor meets Argentina’s Karen Elizabeth Carabajal, who is unbeaten in 19 fights. It will not be the spectacle and it certainly does not carry the menace of Taylor’s last fight when she became the queen of the Garden in New York. Back in April, the women’s game changed forever when Taylor made over one-million dollars, beat Amanda Serrano over ten torrid rounds at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. Still, no screams and shouts from Taylor. Instead, the girl from Bray vanished.
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She emerged this week in the shadow of Wembley Stadium, as polite and focused and not fussed as ever. “It was a great night,” she said.
Taylor’s win over Serrano launched the most extraordinary year ever for women’s boxing on both the domestic and international scene. Since that momentous night at the glorious Garden, Claressa Shields, Savannah Marshall, Alycia Baumgardner and Mikaela Mayer moved the bar even higher. Next month, Chantelle Cameron fights Jessica McCaskill in Abu Dhabi and on the domestic scene, Natasha Jonas and Terri Harper have been incredible.
The year still belongs to Taylor, make no mistake. Her memorable walk to the ring, a victory saunter before the first bell in New York, was the closest Taylor has ever been to gloating. That long walk, with pauses to smell the event, was spine-tingling. That was Taylor’s crowning glory and then she won a truly wonderful fight.
There are more contenders and pretenders and screamers and schemers waiting for Taylor on the near and distant horizon. Taylor would fight them all, trust me. However, at 36 and after a quarter century in the boxing game, she has to be selective. That is sensible and Taylor and her people are smart; there might be big risks going forward, but they will be accompanied by even bigger paydays.
Taylor has offers for rematches, fights at catchweight, crazy fights across several weight divisions and unfinished rivalries. Taylor is used to hearing her name on the lips of other fighters; Taylor seldom mentions other fighters. If she has a fantasy shopping list, she keeps it silent.
Amanda Serrano, right, punches Ireland’s Katie Taylor during the fifth round of their fight at Madison Square Garden
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On Saturday, Taylor has an awkward task to both win, look good and stay motivated. It’s not always easy to pull the treble off. There are always dangers in fights where nobody expects you to drop a round. Taylor, however, is cold in that area and there is a genuine absence of the unknown with her. Taylor finds motivation where other fighters find excuses for poor displays; Taylor hates to lose more than just about any boxer I have ever known.
Katie Taylor remains the greatest influence on a business that many have claimed to rule. Taylor just gets on with business with a ferocity and a humility that is surely the rarest cocktail in the history of the sport. The girl from Bray wins on Saturday to set up a super fight or two next year. We will miss her when she is gone.
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