Can Katie Taylor separate emotion from occasion in Dublin revenge mission?
Katie Taylor has turned down the easy options and instead faces a rematch with Chantelle Cameron on Saturday in Dublin, with her legacy already secured but a burning desire for more.
Irish sporting legend Katie Taylor’s legacy is already secure. A pioneer in women’s boxing, winning an Olympic gold medal as an amateur and the undisputed lightweight championship as a professional, the 37-year-old is a trailblazer and one of the greatest – male or female – to lace a pair of gloves.
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But for all of the glory and adulation from her adoring millions of fans on the Emerald Isle and further afield, a sense of unfinished business remains. Katie Taylor is not used to losing, winning all but 13 of her 189 amateur fights before reeling off 22 successive wins as a professional.
Methodically, champion after champion was defeated, each obstacle navigated – although not always the easy way; Taylor loves a relentless scrap in the center of the ring. But in May, Taylor was toppled for the first time in her seven-year career in the paid ranks.
In another daring step, she leapt up in weight to take on England’s unbeaten and undisputed super lightweight world champion Chantelle Cameron (17-0). In her native Dublin, Taylor entered to a reception fitting for a queen, such is the strength of her people’s affection.
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But unlike so many of her fights, Taylor could not dictate the pace of the fight on the front foot. Cameron proved too big, too strong and, most shockingly, too clever for Taylor on the night. A majority decision in Cameron’s favor flattered Taylor, who clearly came off second best across the 10 two-minute rounds at the 3Arena.
With her career reaching its climax, Taylor still had many options in front of her after her defeat. A rematch with women’s boxing icon Amanda Serrano after edging a split decision at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2022 made financial and sporting sense, while bouts up in weight with Amerca’s Mikaela Mayer or Britain’s Terri Harper would have satisfied the broadcasters, too.
Thinking coldly, absent of emotion, a rematch with Cameron seemed less appealing, so ominous was the pattern of the first fight. There is no shame in losing in elite sport, but that is not how Taylor is wired. She wanted Cameron across the ring from her again, and at the earliest opportunity.
So 189 days later, we have Cameron vs Taylor II on Saturday night, a fight founded in emotion, the urge to settle a score, a need to be the best and never take a backward step. Yet that emotion will need to be put aside when the bell rings, the urge to trade fists recklessly repressed.
It is the rare skill that made her one of the sport’s most decorated amateurs that will give Taylor a chance to exact revenge over her more domineering opponent. Cameron enters as a -195 favorite despite fighting away from home in Ireland once again.
Victory for Taylor, although hugely impressive, might not change her standing in the eyes of those watching; she is already arguably the greatest women’s fighter of all time. This pursuit is personal rather than a quest for adulation or validation.
