Katie Taylor has joined an unique checklist of stellar athletes in her native Eire.
The 2012 Olympic Gold medalist and undisputed light-weight champion was named the 2022 RTE (Raidio Teilifís Eireann) Sportsperson of the 12 months throughout a dwell airing Saturday night on RTE Sport in Dublin. Taylor beat out a aggressive discipline to assert the coveted award for a 3rd time.
Taylor joined the ceremony through dwell satellite tv for pc feed, whereas her older brother, Dr. Peter Taylor Jr., accepted the award on her behalf.
“I actually want I might’ve been there,” famous Taylor, who joined the ceremony through dwell satellite tv for pc feed. “I’m so grateful. This 12 months particularly has been an distinctive 12 months for Irish sport.”
Taylor (22-0, 6KOs) was honored for her two wins on the 12 months, together with a ten-round, break up determination over Amanda Serrano (43-2-1, 30KOs) of their historic April 30 superfight. The pound-for-pound showdown came about in entrance of a sold-out crowd at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis, with Taylor claiming a slender win to defend her lineal/WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO light-weight championship.
The 36-year-old preventing satisfaction of Bray, Eire added a ten-round shutout over Argentina’s Karen Elizabeth Carabajal on October 29 at OVO Area Wembley in London. The win marked her fourteenth profitable protection of at the least one light-weight title courting again to her October 2017 WBA title win over Anahi Esther Sanchez.
Among the many checklist of nominees included horse racing’s Rachael Blackmore, the 2021 award recipient and the primary ever feminine jockey to assert such honors. Amy Broadhurst, the 2022 World Beginner Gentle Welterweight champion, was the lone different boxer nominated on this 12 months’s discipline.
The remainder of the nominees had been: earlier two-time winner Rory McIlroy (golf); David Clifford (soccer), Josh van der Flier (rugby); Ronan Grimes (para-cycling); Katie McCabe (soccer), Rhys McClenaghan (gymnastics) and Ciara Mageean (Athletics).
“You’ve gotten the likes of Amy Broadhurst, who just about had an ideal 12 months,” acknowledged Taylor. “You’ve gotten Rhys successful the gold medal in gymnastics. You’ve gotten the women qualifying for the World Cup for the primary time. It’s completely phenomenal and distinctive 12 months, so I’m so honored to have received this award once more. I simply wish to proceed to make everybody proud at house.”
Saturday’s announcement leaves Taylor tied because the second-winningest recipient within the 37-year-history of the award. Taylor joins professional golfer Padraig Harrington as a three-time winner, second solely to former monitor and discipline famous person Sonia O’Sullivan who has received the award 5 instances.
Taylor claimed her first RTE Sportsperson of the 12 months award in 2012, honoring her Olympic Gold medal haul. The honour was becoming, as Taylor was instrumental in girls’s boxing making its lengthy overdue debut in the course of the 2012 London Olympics. She additionally nabbed the award in 2020 following a repeat win over Delfine Persoon—whom she first edged of their June 2019 four-belt unification bout—and a landslide victory over then-unbeaten Miriam Gutierrez.
A boxer has claimed the RTE Sportsperson of the 12 months award six instances, together with Corridor of Fame former featherweight champion Barry McGuigan who was the inaugural winner in 1985. Taylor is chargeable for half of that title, with McGuigan, Michael Carruth (1992 Olympic Gold medalist) and present contender Michael Conlan (2015, World Beginner bantamweight champion) beforehand receiving the honour.
Taylor’s subsequent combat remains to be within the works. Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn, Taylor’s career-long promoter, just lately reiterated to BoxingScene.com of the intention to convey the Irish famous person house for the primary time as a professional. Plans are being looked for a protracted overdue homecoming on the famed Croke Park in Dublin.
Excessive on the precedence checklist to headline is a coveted rematch with Serrano, the reigning lineal/WBC/IBF/WBO featherweight champion who will first face WBA titlist Erika Cruz in a bid to grow to be Puerto Rico’s first-ever undisputed champion. From there, Serrano is eager on heading straight right into a second assembly with Taylor in what might threaten to be the most important combat in Irish boxing historical past.
“We’re positively pushing for a rematch in Croke Park,” Taylor advised RTE. “The talks of constructing a combat at Croke Park is spine-tingling for me. Talks are positively underway. I nonetheless really feel like we’re a great distance off… however I hope it does occur. It will likely be an terrible disgrace if it doesn’t occur.
“The talks of preventing in entrance of 80,000 individuals, it offers me goosebumps. So, I hope that may occur quickly.”
Jake Donovan is a senior author for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox