Bright future of women’s boxing is Taylor-made

Croke Park has staged some unique occasions during its long and storied history, but the biggest and best yet might just have been last Saturday night.

Katie Taylor’s final fight brought a full-house laced with palpable emotion, as Ireland got its chance to wave off into the sunset its best-ever sports star.

A big claim, perhaps, but Taylor is deserving of the accolade.

To win on her final night in front of the lights was the crowning moment for one of the best sporting careers this island has ever seen and, more tellingly perhaps, Taylor leaves a legacy that will endure for generations. That is the mark of a true great.

Taylor has traditionally been a little media shy, but this farewell fight and the promotion around it allowed her reveal a bit more about her character.

A tour of the country in the build-up to the fight when trying to drum up interest for tickets saw Taylor engage with people all over Ireland, and the way in which she was received in different counties on her arrival told you all you needed to know about her star power and how revered she is across the land.

Part of the appeal is the way in which she carries herself, especially in a sport like boxing where big talk and arrogance is often commonplace. Taylor, in her own way, displays a steely belief and confidence in her own abilities, but never strayed away from being humble and understated in the way she went about her business. That is part of her widespread popularity.

Through the course of that media promotion tour, Taylor spoke of her determination and hope that her career would spark a greater interest in women’s boxing and leave a lasting mark on youngsters around the country as they look to emulate her achievements.

It was a sentiment that Taylor echoed again last week when there was a touching moment during her public workout on Wednesday. 10-year-old Clodagh Keating was invited into the ring for a few minutes to join Taylor, much to the young girl’s delight. It reflected Taylor’s continued commitment to raising the profile of women’s boxing, something else she spoke about recently.

“Looking at all these opportunities these girls have now, it’s remarkable. I’m so happy that you walk into any boxing gym and it’s packed with female fighters.

“On a weekly basis, these amazing women headlining these huge shows. I love that.

“I’m so happy to see all these female fighters now don’t have to go through the same opposition I went through. The same adversity I went through. When I look back on my journey, that will be my greatest legacy.” That legacy is one which started all of 20 years ago when Taylor – who also played international soccer for Ireland – was becoming a household name with consistent success at World Championship level.

Yet that, too, was against the odds; Taylor referenced how women’s boxing was often looked down upon and how she had to submit her name as K Taylor, appearing as a boy, in order to get fights in her early days.

Some would say that Taylor, too, almost single handedly got women’s boxing into the Olympics.

Legend has it that, when Olympic officials were considering whether to add women’s boxing to the Olympic schedule in the mid-noughties, they went to watch Taylor as part of showcase events in Chicago. The aim was to convince those in charge to have women’s boxing as part of the 2016 Games; so mesmerised they were with Taylor’s talent, they added women’s events to the 2012 slate of events and the rest, as they say, is history.

Beyond that, Taylor has now almost single-handedly helped women’s boxing become a legitimate route for youngsters all over the world by raising its profile beyond measure. Having turned professional a decade ago, Taylor’s ability to generate interest and crowds along the way resulted in bouts at several iconic venues, including Madison Square Garden.

Thanks to Taylor, women’s professional boxing can now stand on its own two feet, with the weekend’s fare at Croke Park a reflection of its standing.

Her ability to convince Eddie Hearn to get involved also speaks to her unique qualities; Hearn is not someone who would go for something without it having a commercial advantage. Taylor has played a key role in creating an industry.

The show that those involved put on at Croke Park last Saturday was surely beyond the wildest dreams of even the most ardent of Katie Taylor's team members. The lights, the fireworks, the setting; it all added to the sense that this was going to be a landmark moment in Irish sporting history.

The fight itself failed to produce any truly memorable moments, aside, perhaps, from the final ten seconds when Taylor tried to let loose, but it was a neat summation in some ways of Taylor's career and many of the fights she has gone on to win in that time. She was always in control, calm and poised and, even if she tired a little quicker than may have been the case a decade ago, Taylor never looked as though she was going to lose despite a game challenge from Flora Pili.

The moment when Taylor laid her gloves in the centre of the ring at the end of the flight will be the one etched into the history books, as will those wonderful shots of Croke Park from above as she made her entrance. Only a certain type of character can generate the hype for such an occasion.

Ireland has produced many great sportspeople across so many different disciplines over the years but few, if any, can lay claim to stimulating growth in their sport as much as Taylor has in women’s boxing.

At amateur and professional level, Taylor has been the sole driver in its rise over the last 20 years.

That, to me, makes her Ireland’s greatest.