WBC bestow rare honour on Bray-born World champion
Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor has announced she will take time off from her boxing career to ‘attend to personal matters’.
As a result of the 39-year-old Wicklow fighter’s decision, she will be recognised by the World Boxing Council (WBC) as ‘Champion in Recess’ and named the WBC Emeritus Champion.
Taylor recently revealed her marriage to American Sean McCavanagh, a real estate broker from her adopted American state of Connecticut.
A ‘Champion in Recess’ is a special recognition granted by the WBC to boxers who have had an outstanding career and achieved elite status in the sport.
It is a lifetime honour given in specific situations, such as injuries, personal issues that will keep them away from the sport for a period, or if someone moves up in weight class.
The ‘Champion in Recess’ designation allows the title to be vacated so other fighters can compete for it and keep the division active, while granting the boxer a special status and the possibility of returning to fight for the belt in the future.
“She let us know that she plans to take some time away from the ring to attend to personal matters. The fight she was obligated to take was against Chantelle Cameron; by naming her Champion in Recess, we will order Sandy Ryan to fight Cameron to ratify the WBC super lightweight world title,” explained WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.
The WBC title is one of the belts Taylor currently holds along with the WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO, and The Ring titles, all of which she retained following her trilogy victory over Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano in New York last July.
Taylor and manager Brian Peters met Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn during the build-up to last Saturday’s Lewis Crocker vs Paddy Donovan title fight in Belfast, and Hearn reiterated Taylor’s desire to fight in Croke Park.
Hearn previously admitted he didn’t know if Taylor would fight again.