Advertisement
Katie Taylor speaking on tonight's Late Late Show.
Looking Back

'I fell out of love with the sport over the last few years'

Katie Taylor talked about “the lowest point of my career” and her new life as a pro on the Late Late Show tonight.

KATIE TAYLOR DISCUSSED her heartbreaking loss at the 2016 Olympics as well as her plans for professional boxing on the Late Late Show tonight.

The Bray native, whose first professional fight will be against Poland’s Karina Kopinska at Wembley on 26 November, described her Rio Olympics disappointment as “definitely the lowest point of my career”.

“It’s easy to point the finger at everyone else, but there were a lot of factors involved — it was a tough year and I just didn’t perform well,” Taylor added. “But if I was successful in Rio, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in now with this new venture.”

The star credited new US trainer Ross Enamait with helping persuade her make the big switch, while admitting that she had been struggling to keep motivating herself as an amateur.

I definitely knew I needed a change. I needed the contact with Ross over in America and I was familiar with his work over the last few years and he was obviously such a well-renowned coach.

“The more I spent time with him, the more I got an appetite for the pro game. It’s definitely the right time to turn pro. I’d been amateur for so long and at the top of the sport for so long.

I think I fell out of love with the sport over the last few years. I found it hard to motivate myself really. I needed a new goal, a new challenge and being out in the States these last few months is the first time I’ve really enjoyed my training in a long time and it really got that spark back in me.”

And while there are drawbacks and risks involved in turning professional, Taylor believes the sacrifices will ultimately be worth it.

“I’m busy with training, but there are times when you are lonely when you’ve been away from your family for so long, but if you want to achieve greatness in anything, there is a price tag to that.

“The professional game is a bit more ruthless. The people watching professional boxing do like to see knockouts and a bit more blood.

“It was a big decision to make… But I’d love to bring women’s professional boxing to the next level.

There’s an element of risk in everything really. It would have been a lot safer for me to stay amateur these next four years. But I wanted to follow my heart, I was more passionate about the pro game. It excited me a lot more than the amateur game and if you’re worried about all the risks, you’d never get up in the morning. You have to take risks to achieve greatness.”

And while women’s professional boxing remains relatively under the radar for now, the Irish boxer cites the recent success of female UFC fighters as evidence that there is potential for her sport to grow and achieve similar levels of popularity.

Women’s pro boxing is non-existent (in terms of popularity) at the moment — people don’t really know anything about it. I feel like I’ve broken down a lot of barriers in the amateur game and I’d like to do the same thing in the pro game.

“You look at the likes of Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm, they’re headlining big shows in the UFC. I’d love to bring the same thing in professional boxing.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Pearson ‘ready to make a push’ towards the top of the UFC’s lightweight division>

‘I see myself winning the belt’ – Mousasi chasing revenge in Belfast headliner>

Your Voice
Readers Comments
37
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.