‘MY UNDISPUTED DREAM’
Katie Taylor tells John Dennen that she hopes to unify all four world titles before the year is out
Irish star Katie Taylor was an amateur phenomenon. She won a record-equalling five World championship gold medals as well triumphing at the 2012 Olympic Games. Only nine bouts into a professional career she’s boxed on the undercard of stadium shows at Wembley and in Cardiff, where she won the WBA world lightweight title. On April 28 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn she outscored Victoria Noelia Bustos to unify the WBA and IBF world titles in Taylor’s most accomplished professional performance to date. She wants to maintain the pace of her career, setting her sights on the two other major world titles as well as looking ahead to potential challengers already working their way up the ranks.
How pleased were you with the performance in New York?
Very, very happy actually. I feel like I’m getting better in each fight. It was probably my best performance as a pro, I think. Definitely I felt I was a lot better in close, in the pocket. Just a few things I was working on over the last few months.
Did you have high expectations of her as an opponent?
I was definitely going into that fight a lot sharper and knew it was going to be a tough fight. I had a lot of respect for her. I think she’d been champion for four or five years, a great, great fighter. So I knew I needed to be sharper. I knew I had to be clever for the first two rounds and rack up the rounds. But after that I knew then I could stand there and trade a bit. I just think the fight itself had a bit of everything.
How tough has it being doing these 10 rounders, compared to four-twos in the amateurs?
It’s definitely been a slow progression for me for sure. I think I’m doing the rounds comfortably now. For this fight itself I had a really long training camp and I was able to rack up the rounds and spar a lot over the last few months, just because I had a lot of respect for the opponent. But I knew it was going to be a tough, tough fight.
Was that the highlight of your professional career so far, or those big stadium shows you’ve been on?
Every fight for me has been really, really special and really very big. I think it was the highlight. The performance was my best performance as a pro and to unify the belts as well was obviously very, very special. I’ve had the privilege of boxing on big shows throughout my whole pro career. I’ve had a great platform in every single fight, which has been very special for me.
When do you think your next fight will be?
I hope to have three more fights by the end of this year. So the next one’s going to be in July I think.
Potentially in London?
I think that’s the one. At the O2. I’ve fought a couple of times there before. So I’m looking forward to that.
And could that be the WBO title?
We’re hoping. I’m not sure if she [Rose Volante] has taken the fight or not. But it’s going to be a big fight for me.
Could you be undisputed, with all four belts by the end of 2018?
That’s the dream really. That would be the dream. But it’s up to the other champions to take the fights as well. But I know that the WBC champion, [Delphine] Persoon as well is up for the fight. So that fight’s there for me as well. We’ll know in the next few months.
It’s a great opportunity for them, for the both of us. It’s going to be their biggest payday as well I think. So I think it is a fight that they should take. So hopefully they do step up to the plate.
Will you be keeping an eye on some of your amateur rivals, like Chantelle Cameron and Natasha Jonas [both of whom Taylor has boxed in international competition]?
Absolutely. I’ve said it before, I’m lucky that in and around my weight division there are so many great fighters out there and so many possible big fights to be made. And that’s so important for our careers and it’s so important to make those fights happen. Because they’re fights that the public are interested in as well. Both great girls and big fights in the future.
(Jonas is featured on pages 32-35)
Is there anyone you’re looking at as your biggest threat?
I think all those girls are really, really good. Persoon is obviously the WBC champion, is in the pound-for-pound rankings, she’s probably the most experienced fighter at the moment. That’s going to be a big, big fight. There’s Amanda Serrano as well, that’s going to be a great fight in the future. There’s going to be great fights out there. There’s no shortage of fights at all. There’s the likes Mikaela Mayer as well. I actually didn’t box her in the amateurs so that’s another one. They’re building her up. She’s very good, she’s doing very well and it’s another big fight out there for me. So as I said there’s no shortage of fights. Which is great.