Must be smart CUNNINGHAM
WHEN Katie Taylor won European and world titles as an amateur, tickets were easy to come by.
Ningbo, Pazardzhik, Mykolaiv, Kezthely, Qinhuangdao, Astana, Jeju, Vejle...
Many would struggle to name the countries those cities are in but those were some of the places Taylor took the big prizes.
The footage that exists — and there isn’t a lot of it — shows acres of empty seats in the arenas.
This week Taylor and Amanda Serrano had a public workout in New York.
There were 260 accredited media personnel there. Taylor won amateur world titles in places where there weren’t 260 people present.
That she is still making history just a couple of months away from her 36th birthday is a wonder.
You know by now that this is the biggest fight between two women of all time. We’ve been told often enough but it’s no less true for that.
New York is Fight City. Madison Square Garden is its City Hall.
Think of it, this is the place where Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier for the first time. It was a big deal that
Frank Sinatra accepted an invitation to be Life magazine’s ringside photographer because he was so keen to get close to the action.
Ever watch Martin Scorsese’s classic Raging Bull with Robert De Niro as Jake La Motta? Sugar Ray Robinson’s battles with La Motta (inset) took place in the Garden.
Think of the greats from Joe Louis to Rocky Marciano to Marvin Hagler to Mike Tyson who spilled blood there.
Two women getting it on in the Garden. Million dollar purses on offer to both of them.
It was unthinkable not that long ago but Taylor long ago refused to put any barriers to her ambition.
There isn’t much that she hasn’t seen but this week has still been different.
Taylor has looked calm and composed this week. She knows there has been talk of decline but this is big — and Taylor loves big.
Ireland’s pride is undoubtedly the better boxer but she needs to box smart and not get drawn into a scrap. Will Taylor be crowned the Queen of New York? Never back against
her.