Katie Taylor

Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She was the undisputed and undefeated lineal world lightweight champion from 2019 to 2024, and has held the unified and lineal world super lightweight championship since 2023. Hugely popular in Ireland, she is credited with raising the profile of women's boxing at home and abroad, and is regarded as the outstanding Irish athlete of her generation. She is considered by many to be the greatest female boxer of all time.

In her amateur boxing career, Taylor won five consecutive gold medals at the Women's World Championships, gold six times at the European Championships, and gold five times at the European Union Championships. She was the flag bearer for Ireland at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony before going on to win the gold medal in the lightweight division.

Taylor turned professional in 2016 under Matchroom Boxing. After winning the WBA lightweight title in 2017 and the IBF title the following year, her unification victory over Delfine Persoon in Madison Square Garden made her the eighth boxer in history (female or male) to hold all four major world titles in boxing—IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO—simultaneously. In November 2023 she repeated the feat at super lightweight when she beat Chantelle Cameron in Dublin for the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC, and WBO titles, regaining the latter she initially won from Christina Linardatou in 2019.

As of September 2025, Taylor is ranked as the world's best active female super lightweight by BoxRec and the best active female boxer, pound-for-pound, by The Ring and BoxRec. She is known for her fast-paced, aggressive boxing style.

Early life

Taylor was born on 2 July 1986 in Bray, County Wicklow, the daughter of Irish mother Bridget (née Cranley) and English-born father Pete Taylor. She has an older sister named Sarah and two older brothers named Lee and Peter, the latter of whom is a mathematics professor at Dublin City University. Her father, who was born near Leeds and grew up in Birmingham, first visited Bray to work with his father in the amusement arcades on the seafront. After meeting and marrying Bridget, he decided to settle in Bray. In 1986, he became an Irish senior light heavyweight champion boxer. Originally an electrician by trade, he eventually became Taylor's full-time boxing coach. He also coached Adam Nolan who, like Taylor, represented Ireland at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Bridget also developed an interest in boxing and became one of the earliest female referees and judges in Ireland.

Between 1999 and 2005, Taylor attended St. Kilian's Community School in Bray. Her three older siblings all attended the same school. As well as boxing and playing association football at school, she also played ladies' Gaelic football and camogie with her local GAA clubs, Bray Emmets and Fergal Ógs. She was a member of Bray Runners, a local athletics club, and several American colleges reportedly offered her sports scholarships while she was still studying at St Killian's. However, she opted instead to attend University College Dublin, known for its sports scholarship programme, which she qualified for via her Leaving Cert results. As her sporting career began to take off, she chose not to complete her studies at UCD.

Amateur career

Taylor first began boxing in 1998, aged 12. Her father coached her and her two older brothers, Lee and Peter, at St Fergal's Boxing Club, which operated out of a former boathouse in Bray. At 15, in 2001, she fought in the first officially sanctioned female boxing match in Ireland, at the National Stadium, and defeated Alanna Audley from Belfast.

List of title fights

2005 European Amateur Boxing Championship

Taylor's first noteworthy success was at the 2005 European Amateur Championships, in Tønsberg, Norway. She won the gold medal, defeating Eva Wahlström of Finland in the final of the 60 kg lightweight class.

2005 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

Later in 2005, at the World Amateur Championships in Podolsk, Russia, Taylor advanced to the quarter-finals in the 60 kg weight class, where she lost to Kang Kum-Hui.

2006 European Amateur Boxing Championship

At the 2006 European Amateur Championships in Warsaw, Poland, Taylor won her second successive gold medal by stopping reigning world champion Tatiana Chalaya of Russia, also collecting the tournament's Best Boxer award.

2006 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

At the 2006 World Women's Boxing Championship, contested in New Delhi, India, Taylor became Ireland's first World Champion, defeating Chalaya again in the semi-final and then Erica Farias of Argentina in the 60 kg final.

2007 European Amateur Boxing Championship

In 2007, she won her third successive European Championship title in Denmark.

2008 Women's European Union Amateur Boxing Championships

2008 saw Taylor win her first European Union gold medal, contested in August in Liverpool, England. Here she defeated Cindy Orain of France.

2008 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

Taylor went on to claim her second World title at the 2008 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, contested in November at Ningbo, China. In the 60 kg weight class, she defeated China's Cheng Dong in the final match which was her 100th bout.

2009: Entering the public eye

On 21 March 2009 at The Dublin O2, Taylor won a 27–3 win over three-time Pan-American champion Caroline Barry of the United States on the undercard of a pro WBA super bantamweight world title fight between Bernard Dunne of Ireland and Ricardo Cordoba of Panama. Speaking after the fight, Taylor, who had stopped Barry in the final of the 2006 World Championships in New Delhi, said she was stunned by the welcome she received from Irish boxing fans. She said: "I couldn't believe the reception I got – it was an amazing experience for me. I knew it was going to be a tough fight and well done to her for never backing off."

2009 Women's European Union Amateur Boxing Championships

Taylor defended her European Union title in 2009. She beat home favourite, Bulgaria's Denitsa Elisayeva, in the July tournament hosted in Pazardzhik.

2010 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

On 18 September 2010, Taylor went on to claim her third successive World title at the 2010 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, in Barbados. In the 60 kg weight class, she again defeated China's Cheng Dong in the final match. This was Taylor's 100th career win.

2011 EU Women Boxing Championships

Taylor won the gold medal at the EU Women Boxing Championships in Katowice, Poland in 2011.

2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

On 19 May 2012, Taylor won her fourth successive World title at the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, in Qinhuangdao China. In the 60 kg weight class, she defeated Russian southpaw Sofya Ochigava.

2012 Summer Olympics

Taylor qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the first time women's boxing had been considered for inclusion. Crowds gathered on the streets of her hometown Bray to watch her progress on giant screens erected especially for the occasion. Coddle released a single called "Katie Taylor Ireland's Boxing Legend". The song reached number 42 in the Irish Charts.

Taylor's first appearance at the 2012 Summer Olympics came on 6 August, after a first round bye. She achieved an impressive 26–15 victory (R1: 5–2, R2: 5–5, R3: 9–4, R4: 7–4) over Great Britain's Natasha Jonas, booking her place in the semi-final and guaranteeing her, at least, an Olympic bronze medal. Fans of Taylor produced record noise levels at the Olympics.

In the semi-final on 8 August 2012, she proved far too good for Tajikistan's Mavzuna Chorieva and won in a 17–9 victory (R1: 3–1, R2: 4–2, R3: 6–3, R4: 4–3), booking her place in the final and guaranteeing her, at least, an Olympic silver medal.

Taylor defeated Russia's Sofya Ochigava in the final bout by 10–8 (R1: 2–2, R2: 1–2, R3: 4–1, R4: 3–3) on 9 August 2012, winning an Olympic gold medal, and becoming the first ever Olympic female lightweight champion.

On her return to Dublin with the rest of the Olympic squad she got into the cockpit of the plane and leaned out the window waving an Irish flag.

2014 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships

On 24 November 2014, Taylor won her fifth straight lightweight title in South Korea at the 2014 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, defeating Yana Allekseevna of Azerbaijan. The final scoreline was 40–36, 39–37, and 39–37 in her favour.

2015 European Games

On 27 June 2015, Taylor won the lightweight title in Azerbaijan at the inaugural European Games, defeating Estelle Mosely of France. The final scoreline was 40–36, 40–36, and 39–37 in her favour.

2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships

On 24 May 2016, Taylor qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics after defeating Victoria Torres in the quarter-finals of the lightweight division at the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships. Two days later, Taylor lost to Estelle Mossely in the semi-finals which ended her quest for a sixth World title in a row.