Taylor out of the National Elite Championships

KATIE Taylor will not defend her Irish lightweight title in the ring this season after being forced out of the National Elite Seniors through injury.

The Irish sporting legend looked set to fight for the right to be crowned best in Ireland for the first time as two fighters weighed in at the Olympic champs weight.

However, Taylor didn’t weigh in on Friday and is out of the blue ribbon tournament due to a hand injury.

“Would love to have boxed but injured wrist from world championships didn’t heal quick enough, hence the reason I didn’t weigh in,” the Bray boxer tweeted.

Her decision leaves the 60kg division open for dispute between Louise Donohoe (Geesalla BC, Mayo) and Debbie O’Reilly (Olympic BC, Galway).

Taylor has been unopposed in previous years.

It is disappointing news for Irish fans as Taylor’s final nights absence looked set to off set the disappointment of being denied the chance to see the likes of Paddy Barnes, Joe Ward, David Oliver Joyce and more big names.