{"id":883852,"date":"2026-09-05T04:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T04:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/883852\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T04:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T04:16:09","slug":"every-girl-now-wants-to-be-a-boxer-excitement-in-katie-taylors-home-town-for-her-valedictory-bout-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/883852\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Every girl now wants to be a boxer\u2019: excitement in Katie Taylor\u2019s home town for her valedictory bout | Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

When <\/a>Katie Taylor steps into the ring on Saturday night to defend her titles and once again enthral Ireland, there will be a bittersweet tinge. After a singular career that pioneered women\u2019s boxing, the super-lightweight champion and Olympic gold medallist is bowing out. She is 40 and it is to be her final bout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe end of an era, isn\u2019t it?\u201d said Trevor McMahon, her brother-in-law and founder of a gym where she trains. \u201cIt\u2019ll be an amazing night but it\u2019ll also be a little bit sad. Everything she did, it might not ever be achieved again.\u201d<\/p>\n

A billboard in Katie Taylor\u2019s home town of Bray wishes her luck. Photograph: Rory Carroll\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

There is consolation in the manner of her farewell. Taylor will fight in front of an 80,000-strong roaring, pulsing crowd at Dublin\u2019s Croke Park, the citadel of Irish sport, in a valedictory like no other.<\/p>\n

Before tickets went on sale in June, some worried that a boxing match might not fill such a vast stadium. The event out in 17 minutes.<\/p>\n

Westlife<\/a> and other musical acts have joined the bill, adding to the sense of extravaganza. The national broadcaster, RT\u00c9, will broadcast proceedings free to air, so every home and pub can tune in for Price\u2019s showdown with Flora Pili, an unbeaten French champion.<\/p>\n

David Finnegan, 55, who was selling Taylor hats, flags and posters from a stall in her home town of Bray, County Wicklow, this week, said: \u201cBusiness is tipping away. This is her farewell, everyone wants to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catherine Hill, 45, had a precious ticket and wanted a Taylor T-shirt for the occasion. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be amazing for Katie, the whole country and all women,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery young girl now wants to be a boxer or an athlete. It wasn\u2019t like that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catherine Hill and her son at a stall with Katie Taylor merchandise near the boxer\u2019s family home in Bray. Photograph: Rory Carroll\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Another customer, Denise, 71, bought flags for a pub in Kerry where she planned to watch the bout. \u201cWhat I love about Katie is that she\u2019s not full of herself. She\u2019s down to earth and still meets up with her friends here. She\u2019s so good with the children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even those with no interest in boxing have been swept up in excitement for an athlete who is adored for blazing a trail in female sports with talent, grit and humility.<\/p>\n

Encouraged and trained by her father, Pete, Taylor began sparring as a young girl at a gym so rudimentary it was nicknamed the Tin Can. Women and girls were banned from the ring in Ireland and the UK, so she disguised herself as a boy<\/a> and signed up to bouts as \u201cK Taylor\u201d.<\/p>\n

A mural of Katie Taylor at the site of her first gym. Photograph: Rory Carroll\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Father and daughter helped to persuade Irish authorities to lift the ban in 2001, when she was 15, and were instrumental in having women\u2019s boxing added to the Olympic Games. Taylor won gold at London 2012 and went on to headline Madison Square Garden<\/a> and win an epic trilogy with Amanda Serrano<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trevor McMahon, Katie Taylor\u2019s brother-in-law and the founder of Liberty Boxing Gym. Photograph: Rory Carroll\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

McMahon, whose Liberty Boxing<\/a> gym hosts Taylor during her return visits to Bray, said: \u201cThe talent was always there but it was more the dedication. She knew from the get-go what she was going to do. When she comes down to train in the club, the place is packed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time Croke Park hosted a boxing match was in 1972, when Muhammad Ali fought Alvin Lewis. McMahon said Taylor\u2019s farewell promised to be even more special.<\/p>\n

Pili, 29, has won all 12 of her professional fights and holds the IBO world super-lightweight title. She will be no pushover but McMahon said Taylor was determined to add another belt to her titles and go out on a high. \u201cNo matter how tough the fight is, Katie always seems to rise to the occasion. If she\u2019s beaten, you\u2019d have to carry her out of there in a box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laney O\u2019Connell, 28, who lives on the estate where Taylor grew up, said she had inspired girls to be fit and active. \u201cWhen you meet her, she\u2019s completely normal. I don\u2019t think she realises just how big she is,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s great to see the country represented by a woman instead of a man, especially not McGregor,\u201d she added, referencing the mixed martial artist Conor McGregor.<\/p>\n

Anne-Marie McHugh, 58, speaking below a supermarket\u2019s Taylor mural, hoped that Bray\u2019s most famous daughter will enjoy a restful post-boxing life. \u201cIt\u2019s time for her to relax,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019s earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A mural of Katie Taylor overlooks Anne-Marie McHugh and her granddaughter in Bray, County Wicklow. Photograph: Rory Carroll\/The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Katie Taylor steps into the ring on Saturday night to defend her titles and once again enthral…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":883853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-883852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}