TENDER WARRIOR
“P eople have definitely not seen the best of me yet. I think they have seen glimpses, but certainly not the best of me, and that is so exciting. It keeps me going. You will see this in the future, the next fight I hope.” Really?! After 28 years of dedicating her entire life to boxing – and winning more trophies and titles than virtually any fighter ever – we haven’t yet seen the best Katie Taylor? I actually spilled the afternoon tea we were sharing at a quiet reunion in the heart of London. Katie is my friend. We have been close for many years – she has been to visit my family, and my children have all been to see her fight – so I know KT well. But she never ceases to amaze me. Like she did carrying the Irish flag when she lit up London in 2012 – becoming one of the iconic figures of those sensational Olympics. This stands high above all her amazing memories: “For sure, the Olympic gold medal here in London was the one,” Katie told me. “The pressure, people have no idea – the weight on my shoulders. I was the hot favorite. I was expected to come back with the Olympic medal. All the Irish had booked tickets months in advance for the final. “I had to win. There was no way I couldn’t. I was fighting for them. And winning an Olympic gold medal in front of 10,000 Irish people was the one. To finally stand up on the top of the podium, with the Irish flag going up, hearing the anthem, getting the gold medal – so special.” I implore you to dig out the incredible pictures of Katie’s homecoming to Bray, the coastal town in County Wicklow; they will blow you away. KT remains hopeful that one day she will fill up Dublin’s Croke Park: “It would be really amazing – 90,000 or whatever they can pack in! We have had talks over the last few years; I am still clinging on to hope
that will happen.” I have admired and been inspired by Katie Taylor for a very long time – and there is always a new challenge, something deep inside waiting to ignite. This relentless nature of continually defying normal rules. Rather like another fighter she holds in the highest esteem: “Oleksandr Usyk is just phenomenal,” Katie told me. She is in awe of her fellow pound-for pound great, who also shone brightly in the London Olympics and, like Taylor, is adored by the people. “Usyk’s beaten Joshua twice, he’s beaten Fury twice, and he’s only really a cruiserweight,” Katie explained. “What he has done for the sport – with such class – it’s amazing. We both won gold medals in 2012; we have the history together. And to see the two of us progress in the pro ranks – same generation.”
rematch last November on Netflix. As the co-main event to Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul, it far surpassed every women’s sporting event in U.S. history by garnering an average of 74 million viewers globally, according to the streaming platform. Katie loved being involved, but to her, a ring is a ring: “It doesn’t matter whether you are fighting in front of 10 people or 10,000 or 100 million; I am there to give it my all. It is amazing to sit back seeing the figures afterwards, but as far as my mindset going into those fights, it doesn’t change, no matter who is watching.” Taylor won by unanimous decision despite a point deduction for headbutts, leading to much controversy. Unfounded, according to Taylor herself: “I absolutely did win the fights. There is no doubt. This is boxing. People have their opinions and people
But this wasn’t her pugilistic comfort zone. No gloves – merely holding on with her bare hands to the flimsy handle of a tired rope. No boxing boots – just those dancing feet forced into ill-fitting water skis. “Only a couple of Great Whites spotted in the Cape this year!” I said, half-jokingly. For this is very much shark territory. A few seals bobbed around – ideal targets for the most feared of the elasmobranch fish. It was the rare moment in which the warrior relinquished her position at the top of the food chain, but Katie was desperate to follow my siblings and glide through Chatham’s wild waterways. The engine revved, the rope went taut, and Katie fought to stand as she was dragged through the water. Almost up. Not quite. Rope gone. Down. Take two. Take three. Take four … five … six. But as hard as she tried, she just couldn’t get up. “More,” she shouted as she languished alone in the cool water. “I have to do this!” Katie could have stayed, on and on, until the sun had long set over Crow’s Pond, but she conceded to a rare defeat. For almost three decades, striving in battle, Katie Taylor has tested herself against the very best, possessing this remarkable inner spirit and a ferocious drive that takes her body to extraordinary places, time and again. Perseverance. The challenge. So she might not have taken to the water as the ducks do, but oh my, did she give it a go. How much she wanted it. Katie dried herself off, cuddled up to my youngest daughter, Tilly, and, although disappointed, thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the Smiths’ boating trip before challenging us to table tennis! This was the first time that my father, Alan, had met Katie. To this day, I don’t
“It doesn’t matter whether you are fighting in front of 10 people or 10,000 or 100 million; I am there to give it my all.”
Together they are the epitome of all that is great about boxing and stand as wonderful role models. They are so dedicated, so humble, and at 38, both are still on top! Taylor will actually have turned 39 when she enters the ring on July 11 to face superb multi-weight champion Amanda Serrano once again. Fueled by her punishing training regime, Taylor is counting down to this epic third fight with Serrano in New York. The Irish on the East Coast will be back out in droves to see the finest of boxing dance partners reunite, which will bring us a mesmerizing climax to one of the greatest of modern rivalries. It’s all systems go in a series that just seems to get better and better. Their first cracker in April 2022 – with Taylor winning by split decision – was followed by that scintillating
have their favorites, but there is no doubt I did win those fights. You listen to what Teddy Atlas says, Andre Ward, the greats who I respect, and they all had me winning. So people can listen to a random person on the street in comparison to an absolute legend – those who really know what they are talking about. Most people who know what they are talking about had me winning both fights.” Katie went on: “Our styles blend very well. We’ve shared the ring for 20 rounds – each round was a close round. Very little separates the two of us. Two great champions stepping into the ring.” And so they will again, in their own right – not “supporting Tyson-Paul.” “The whole event was definitely bizarre, but it was absolutely amazing to meet and talk to Mike Tyson throughout the lead-up,” Katie continued.
Sharing a card with Mike Tyson was surreal but exhilerating, says Taylor.
“Having a chance to sit down with an icon of the sport was so special. I love the fact that he walked into the ring with a black robe – no music on. I pinch myself now to say I have been on the undercard of Mike Tyson. Never in a million years did I think I would be on the undercard of a legend of the sport. I am so grateful that I have had these opportunities and that God has opened up these doors for me. Every morning, I thank God for this amazing life.” These days, Katie lives a quiet one in Connecticut – and her home is a short ride from where the Smith family descends on Cape Cod every year. There, back in the harsh winters of the ’80s, Marvelous Marvin Hagler honed his body in isolation, in preparation for his magnificent reign as
middleweight king; today, the Cape is a serene hideaway. A few years back, Katie came to visit us at my dad’s summer home in Chatham, Massachusetts. On a golden August afternoon with the herons flying low, the sky was an electric blue and a Grady-White idled in the mystical Cape Cod waters. “Your turn, KT,” I said from the safety of the boat as my brothers lobbed the skis over the engine. And there she was, lying helplessly in the wake, the iconic figure of Katie Taylor: a jewel of the Emerald Isle. One of the greatest to ever lace them up.
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