Much admiration following Katie Taylor’s epic performance
An impressive punch-up leading to a split-decision saw Ireland’s Katie Taylor announced victorious in what has been described as the ‘fight of the year’ at Madison Square Garden, New York last weekend, as the Bray native remains the undisputed lightweight world champion.
Locally, congratulations have been extended to the undisputed champion who had visited Fermoy in the past and inspired many local boxers.
Speaking with TheAvondhu, local activist William Hughes congratulated Taylor, recalling her 2007 visit to the town while he was mayor, when she launched her 2008 season, meeting Sweden’s Klara Svensson on a bill including eight women’s contests at Loreto Sports Complex.
“I showed her around Fermoy town in 2007 when I was mayor. Apart from her boxing, she was a lovely lady. Pat Flynn had a club at the time. She came to visit us and I got a certificate from the council for her. I’d like to congratulate her on her latest achievement. It was a fantastic achievement,” Mr Hughes said.
The Olympic gold medalist further visited the town on several occasions, including in 2009 to open St John’s Boxing Club, and in 2014 when the same club hosted a tournament.
DIFFERENT STANDARDS
Fermoy native and former three-time Irish champion, Ciara Noonan noted that the win is ‘absolutely massive’ for women and girls in sport.
Ciara, who boxed and coached at Fermoy Boxing Club and is now training in Cork City, stated that in the past, women’s boxing was not in the limelight, meaning that the supports and facilities that men’s boxing sees were not there or not to the same standard for women’s boxing.
“Two or three years ago when I was training myself, we were never allowed into the National Stadium, we didn’t have any camps, we didn’t have any Irish tracksuits. Katie has won all her professional fights and has won back her world title again, she’s putting women’s boxing on the map.
“It goes to show the frustration of women that they’ve been training so hard, winning so much, and they’re not recognised, they’re not known and they don’t get to headline any bouts or competitions. Now that Katie has done so much for women’s boxing, now they’ll be recognised and they’ll be number one,” Ciara told TheAvondhu.
‘BRILLIANT FOR CONFIDENCE’
Ciara noted that locally the boxing community is not as strong in Fermoy as it once was, with many locals having to travel to Glanmire and beyond to get involved in the sport. Despite this, she points to a young Fermoy boxer, Freya Crotty, who has been quickly moving through the ranks with Riverstown Boxing Club.
At the age of twelve, Freya has become county and Munster champion and recently debuted in the National Stadium for an All-Ireland which she, unfortunately, lost out on by just a single point.
Freya’s mother Vanessa McCarthy told TheAvondhu that Freya is currently training between three and five nights a week, with another fight upcoming as she heads to a tournament in Limerick on Sunday.
“She’s only seven months boxing, but she’s spent seven years doing taekwon-do. She’s currently All-Ireland champion for Tae-Kwon-Do. It’s brilliant for her confidence. She has completely come out of her bubble through boxing,” Vanessa said.
With no local club currently running for women and girls, Vanessa noted that since Freya joined the Riverstown club, she has received multiple texts from people enquiring about the club and looking to get involved.
DEDICATION
According to Ciara Noonan, a key issue until now had been the lack of sponsorship for women’s and girls’ clubs.
“I boxed in Germany and Sweden and we never had the facilities or sponsorship. We never had anybody behind us, I had dedicated my life to work to make money to be able to go and do these things. Now at the moment, all-female boxers have the sponsorship and backing.
“For me at that time, I had to work. I had to go to school and to work and I had training as well, it just did all get a bit much for me. I would love to go back to it but at the moment I just can’t see myself dedicating that amount of time to it,” Ciara said.
Despite this, local supporters of Katie Taylor are encouraging women and girls to get involved in the sport, especially in light of recent incidents of violence against women.
“It’s great discipline for women and for self-defence as regards everything that’s happening around at the moment. I’m not saying it’s going to save you, but to be able to defend yourself is a massive thing. To have that discipline from a young age, it also helps you stay off the streets. That’s what I found for myself, I stayed out of trouble,” Ciara added.
Local activist William Hughes concurred stating: “They mightn’t all be champions, but it means they will have a course in self-defence”.