New in the Ring : Katie Taylor moves from Amateur to Professional
Katie Taylor, the golden girl of women’s amateur boxing, made her debut on the professional boxing circuit at the Wembley Arena, London on November 26, 2016. She took her first professional victory emphatically defeating Karina Kopsinka over three rounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff0vx3RSABk
Of course, she’s already gotten back into the ring as well. She returned to action on December 10th, and won her second professional fight via decision against a 9-1 veteran.
Katie, with a string of titles under her belt, had delayed her arrival into the professional boxing world until after her controversial defeat at the Rio Olympics.
Having won gold at London 2012 and recognition as the first ever female lightweight champion, the Rio disappointment made her determined to take her career to the next level – an amateur career that has already seen her win 5 gold medals in the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, as well as 6 golds at the European Championships and 5 at the European Union Championships. Impressive victories all round for the Irish lass who began her boxing training under the guidance of her father Peter Taylor, himself once a senior heavyweight champion boxer.
Her first two victories already have her fans eager to see the progress she will make at this new level, a timely event given the growing interest in women’s boxing and specifically new audiences swotting up on the basics of boxing and MMA betting to actually wager on match results.
The unassuming young woman has won the dedication of her Irish fans with her strong work ethic and commitment to her sport, with her humility in both victory and defeat endearing her to her followers. Their loyalty was evident in their outpouring of support following on the Rio defeat and is guaranteed to follow her on her professional career.
Her debut in the Wembley Arena widened her following further, with several boxing critics, who previously had had very little interest in her, stating that she was “one to watch.” Why in the world it would take anybody so long to come to that conclusion is another story, of course.
Now with Bryan Peters as her manager and Ross Enamait having replaced her father as her coach, it is very likely that many more victories are in store for her. Having participated in and won gold at the first women’s Olympics boxing event at London 2012, her move to the professional level is guaranteed to further widen interest in the sport.
