Katie Taylor

In the 60 kg weight class, she defeated China's Cheng Dong in the final match which was her 100th bout.

Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Later in 2005, at the World Amateur Championships in Podolsk, Russia, Taylor advanced to the quarter-finals in the 60 kg weight class.

Here she lost against Kang Kum-Hui, who remains the only boxer to have defeated Taylor at the World Championships.

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.

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.

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."

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

2008 saw Taylor win her first European Union gold medal, contested in August in Liverpool, England.

Here she defeated Cindy Orain of France.

Taylor went on to claim her second World title at the 2008 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship, contested in November at Ningbo, China.

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.

Regarded as the outstanding Irish athlete of her generation, she was the flag bearer for Ireland at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony before going on to win an Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division.

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.

Taylor turned professional in 2016 under Matchroom Boxing.

As of March 2023, Taylor is ranked as the world's best active female 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.

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, beating Chantelle Cameron in Dublin for the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC, and WBO titles, regaining the latter she initially won from Christina Linardatou in 2019.

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.

Hugely popular in Ireland, she is credited with raising the profile of women's boxing at home and abroad.

She is the undisputed and lineal world lightweight champion since 2019, and the undisputed and lineal world super lightweight champion since 2023.