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Katie Taylor has 2020 vision – and beyond


Katie Taylor [12(5)-0] believes there will be opponents out there to help her cement her legacy as the ‘best of all time’.

Taylor will certainly be close to being able to lay claim to being ‘the greatest’ if all her 2019 plans come to fruition.

Victory in Philadelphia tonight will see the Bray fighter become the first ever Irish fighter to become a three belt world champion.

The plan then is to become undisputed by defeating Delfine Persoon on June 1st before wrapping up the year with mega fights versus seven-weight world champion Amanda Serrano and undisputed welterweight queen Cecilia Brækhus.

However, even if all those names and titles are accounted for, Taylor and her team feel there will need to be more entries on her CV to allow for GOAT claims.

Her manager, Brian Peters, has previously called for others to step up the the plate and build records and profiles that make them worthy of topping a bill alongside the Irish sporting legend.

The likes of Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameroon might be able to step up to the plate in 2020, a rematch with Olympic champion Estelle Mossely appeals, while there should be enough money available to tempt former world champion and current UFC star Holy Holm back to the squared circle – not to mention promoter Eddie Hearn being keen on a cross-codes clash with mixed martial artist Cris Cyborg.

Taylor argues the challenges won’t stop there and points out that a number of talented young guns will gunning for her after the this Olympic cycle is done, which means she will have the opponents that will enable her to have the kind a long big fight career that will see her set a ‘greatest of all time’ benchmark that will be hard to ever beat.

“I want to be an undisputed champion, I want to make history in the sport, leave behind a legacy and be known as the best of all time for years and years to come,” said Taylor before claiming the current ‘Golden Era’ looks set to continue – with fights versus the likes of Kelly Harrington and Caroline Dubois already being suggested by some for 2021 and beyond.

“I’m very lucky to have been given this platform to perform on these big stages and giving women’s boxing the showcase that it deserves. People hadn’t seen the best of the sport before but with Sky Sports and DAZN backing us, we’re on a high – it’s a golden era.”

“You are seeing the Olympians turning over to the pros now and that’s huge for the sport, the strength in depth really is there now, especially around lightweight – there’s a stack of new stars in the sport and that’s why it’s great that there are big fights out there for me.”

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Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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