Her final fight, held in front of a massive crowd of around 82,000 spectators at Croke Park in Dublin, captured the attention of the entire world. Her ring walk, accompanied by the thunderous roar of the crowd, would have sent shivers down the spine of even the most emotionless human being. Her symbolic gesture of placing her gloves in the center of the ring, officially and definitively bringing the curtain down on her career, moved many to tears. Katie Taylor is now a former boxer, but what she accomplished inside the squared circle will remain forever etched in boxing history. In this article, I will try to pay tribute to her by listing the 10 reasons why I consider her the greatest female boxer of all time.
1) Her amateur résumé
Usually, when assessing the greatness of a boxer, the focus is on what they achieved as a professional. In Katie Taylor’s case, however, an exception should be made, with considerable importance given to what the Irish fighter accomplished before making the leap to the paid ranks.
This is justified not only by the extraordinary number of trophies she won—including an Olympic gold medal, five World Championship gold medals and six European Championship gold medals—but also because Taylor’s immense talent was one of the crucial factors in convincing the IOC to include women’s boxing in the Olympic Games.
2) Shattering the belief that women’s boxing is “boring”
On average, female boxers, for obvious biological reasons, do not possess the same athletic capabilities as their male counterparts. As a result, the pace, speed of execution and intensity of fights between women can often appear less compelling to those accustomed to watching men’s boxing.
Katie, however, shattered that perception by producing battles capable of bringing even the biggest skeptic out of their seat. Her second fight against Amanda Serrano in particular delivered thrills in abundance, surpassing many men’s world title fights in terms of sheer entertainment.
3) Stealing the spotlight from Jake Paul
That very second chapter of the fantastic Taylor-Serrano trilogy achieved something rather unusual: in terms of public appreciation, it managed to overshadow the night’s main event, the disappointing fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.
The two women benefited from the enormous interest generated by the general public’s curiosity surrounding the headline attraction and fought in front of an audience of around 74 million viewers, who went on discussing their battle for days afterward. While Paul vs Tyson was met with criticism and ridicule for the lackluster spectacle it produced, Taylor showed the entire world what real boxing looks like.
4) Proving that you can be popular without sacrificing class
Many boxers, both male and female, resort to the most outrageous gimmicks imaginable in an attempt to draw attention to their fights. From brawls at press conferences to grotesque costumes worn for ring walks, provocative and sometimes offensive statements—no trick is considered off-limits in the effort to sell one more ticket.
Katie Taylor proved that there is another formula, one based on professionalism, quality and courage. Never an inappropriate word, never a staged scene, never a stripper-like outfit at the weigh-in, unlike some of her fellow female fighters. And yet, people love her all the same.
5) The extraordinary love she inspired in her fans
The 82,000 spectators at Croke Park represent something enormous, historic and simply extraordinary. To put that figure into perspective, when Irish boxer Aaron McKenna captured the prestigious middleweight world title at Dublin’s 3Arena by defeating our own Etinosa Oliha on points, there were fewer than 5,000 paying spectators in attendance.
There was little doubt that Katie Taylor would defeat the game but overmatched Flora Pilli, meaning that the enormous crowd was the direct consequence of the affection the Irish boxer had inspired in her fans.
6) Her consistent refusal to take the “easy way”
Given her technical qualities, speed and footwork, Taylor could have won her biggest fights while taking far fewer risks than she ultimately chose to take. Her indomitable character, however, would not allow it, and that too should be considered part of her greatness.
Take the first Serrano fight, for example. After four rounds, Katie was deservedly ahead three rounds to one on two of the scorecards thanks to a disciplined and cautious approach, but shortly afterward her fighting instincts took over. Taylor went on the attack, came close to being knocked out, recovered and finished the fight magnificently.
7) Professionalism as a way of life
Forty years old and showing no signs of it. Katie Taylor entered the fifth decade of her life this summer, yet inside the ring she still looks like a young fighter.
Some of the credit must go to her American coach Ross Enamait, renowned for his expertise in strength and conditioning. But his knowledge alone would not have been enough without the extraordinary professionalism of the Bray boxer. Taylor approached every training camp of her life with meticulous attention to detail, kept herself in magnificent shape between fights and, in doing so, allowed her body to remain a fighting machine all the way through her final bout.
8) The exceptional level of her opposition
From my point of view, what makes Katie Taylor deserving of a place above Claressa Shields in the ranking of the greatest female boxers of all time is the clearly superior level of her opposition.
Through no fault of her own, but because of the extremely small number of female fighters competing in the heavier weight classes, Shields has almost always entered the ring against opponents who appeared to have little chance from the outset. Taylor, by contrast, has had to earn everything the hard way, facing extremely dangerous opponents with a wide variety of styles. For that reason, her outstanding achievements carry even greater weight.
9) Her determination to erase every doubt
Some decisions in Katie Taylor’s favor have left boxing fans with doubts. Some thought she lost the first fight against Delfine Persoon (I had it a draw), while others disagreed with her first two victories over Serrano (both correct decisions in my view).
In every one of those cases, Taylor responded to the criticism exactly as a true champion should: by giving her opponent another chance and proving her superiority inside the ring. Persoon was therefore beaten in the rematch thanks to a tremendous finish from Taylor, while Serrano was even given a third opportunity, which ultimately confirmed the pecking order.
10) Avenging her only defeat
If Katie was willing to share the ring again with fighters she had narrowly defeated, there was no chance she would shy away from doing the same with the only opponent who had managed to beat her.
And yet, after her first fight against Chantelle Cameron, everything suggested that reversing the result might be beyond the Irishwoman. Her opponent was younger, physically stronger, taller, had a longer reach and had smothered Taylor with her relentless work rate in their first encounter.
Taylor, however, found the right formula to gain revenge and reclaim her throne, leaving the boxing world stunned once again.
The Flaw That Makes the Masterpiece Stand Out
In a sense, Cameron’s name represents the only blemish on Taylor’s extraordinary career—not so much because of the defeat, which she immediately avenged, but because she never gave the English fighter a third bout that could have settled their rivalry once and for all.
As the saying goes, however, a small imperfection in a beautiful painting can make the masterpiece around it stand out even more. Taylor was not perfect, and perhaps one day another extraordinary fighter will surpass what she achieved.
But every female boxer who follows, regardless of how great she may become, will owe Katie Taylor a debt of gratitude, because she tore down the walls that the champions of the future will walk through.