Katie Taylor ready to showcase ability in America once again

It could be argued that Katie Taylor’s greatest triumph took place almost ten years ago in the United States.

Here in Chicago on November 3rd 2007, Taylor stopped Canadian Katie Dunn at the UIC Pavilion inside a round.

The win didn’t provide Taylor with one of the nineteen major medals won during a glittering amateur career, however it is a fight that arguably changed the course of women’s boxing.

The exhibition bout took place during the Men’s World Championships, and Taylor’s performance is said to be one of the factors which eventually convinced bosses to introduce women’s boxing at the Olympic level in 2012.

Taylor has since turned pro, racking up a 5(3)-0 record since last November and claiming the WBA Inter-Continental lightweight title.

Now she will make her return to the U.S. on the Showtime-broadcast light welterweight fight between Mikey Garcia and Adrien Broner later this month.

Sky Sports will air the July 29th bout at the Barclays Centre in New York, and Matchroom’s Taylor was confirmed for the bill, alongside Cork’s Noely Murphy, last week.

While her five fights so far have taken place in England, this months bout will actually take place closer to her training base.

“I’m really excited about boxing in the US because I’ve been training in Connecticut [with coach Ross Enamait] for all my fights to date,” said Taylor. “It’s great now to actually have a fight over here and especially on such a big card.”

“The Barclays Center is a fantastic arena. I was there to see the DeGale–Jack fight in January, that was a great fight and the Broner–Garcia fight is another terrific matchup so it’s brilliant to get the opportunity to be part of that event.

“It’s great to see two top fighters like Broner and Garcia willing to fight each other. That’s what boxing should be about, the best fighting the best and that’s really something I want to do throughout my career as well.”

Recalling her last American adventure, Taylor detailed how “the last time I fought in the U.S. was almost 10 years ago when I was invited to take part in a demonstration bout at the Men’s World Championships in Chicago. It was part of the campaign to convince the IOC to include women’s boxing in the Olympics.”

“I stopped my opponent inside a round that night but hopefully I’ll get the chance to get a few more rounds under my belt at The Barclays Center and showcase my ability to a new audience. I’m sure that there’s going to be lots of Irish fans in the crowd on July 29th and I can’t wait to hear them cheering me on.”