Katie Taylor to star on Kanturk BC show Friday February 19th
By Michael O’Neill
Ireland’s Olympic champion and five times World titleholder, Katie Taylor makes a welcome return to the ring in Kanturk, Co.Cork on Saturday 19th February, when she takes on Sweden’s Jelena Jelic, who has previously represented her native Serbia at World and European level in recent years, at 57kg, 60kg and 64kg level.
The event takes place in Dromtariffe Community Hall and with a full supporting card the entrance fees are €20 (adults) €10 (children),so a great opportunity for those in Cork, Kerry and other nearby counties to buy your ticket in advance and see one of Ireland’s all-time great sportswomen in action against a top class International opponent, Jelena Jelic. Tickets are sure to sell quickly
This is Katie’s first bout since winning the inaugural European Games Lightweight (60kg) crown last June and for some weeks now Katie and her Management have been searching for an opponent ahead of the European Olympic qualifiers (scheduled for Istanbul) and the AIBA Women’s World championships in Kazakhstan, both of which take place prior to August’s XXX1 Olympiad in Rio.
The AIBA is expected to confirm the dates and venue for the European Olympic qualifier in the days ahead though there must now be some doubt about whether to go ahead in the proposed venue (Istanbul) after this week’s terrorist attacks in the Turkish city and in the South East of the country last night. The safety of boxers, coaches and spectators will be uppermost in the mind of the AIBA officials who will make the final choice of venue.
IrishBoxing.com understands that the event is likely to go ahead in Turkey, either in Istanbul or possibly Samsun , a city on the North Coast of Turkey with a population of half a million .It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port and tourist resort.
On January 1st, the Bray woman created a new record when she entered the record books as the AIBA no.1 ranked lightweight for a 10th successive year, a remarkable achievement and one that is unlikely to be equalled – let alone broken – by anyone in future, save perhaps by the Wicklow woman herself.
AIBA President Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, recognising Katie’s record breaking domination of the lightweight scene had this to say :
“What Katie Taylor has achieved over the last ten years in international competition, including the Olympic Games and AIBA World Women’s Elite Championships, has been absolutely outstanding.
“The International Boxing Association congratulates and salutes Katie. To remain at the top of our lightweight rankings for a decade is extraordinary.
“Such remarkable consistency is a testimony to the skill, ambition and determination of a truly world class boxer. She is an inspiration to our young athletes throughout the world.”
Let us not forget though that in the years since London 2012, many more women have entered boxing at international level and thus as Katie herself acknowledged this will arguably be the toughest year of her long and glorious career. No women have as yet qualified for Rio 2016 and she is mindful of the challenges she faces.
“There’s no guarantee when it comes to the Olympic qualifiers, some of the best boxers sometimes don’t get through so you can never be complacent in these competitions.
I’m just delighted to be doing something that I love and I’m going to be doing everything I can to get there and bring home the gold medal to Ireland again,” Taylor added.
We will bring you more news on the Kanturk bout, and her opponent, Jelena Jelic in the coming days .
