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Irish amateur sensation Katie Taylor says she is ‘back in love with boxing’ and ready to kick off her professional career against Karina Kopinka on Saturday at The SSE Arena in Wembley.
After the Rio Olympics this summer, Taylor decided she was ‘ready to begin a new chapter’ and after in the vest and headguard she now wants to win belts instead of medals.
“I was always going to turn pro, it was just a case of doing it at the right time. I’ve been in the amateur game for so long and in the last year or so things have changed and I felt that this was the right time to do it, so I’ve reassessed my goals, I want to become a professional World champion and I’m excited about starting that quest.”
“Amateur boxing has been so good to me over the years and representing Ireland in the Olympics has been the biggest honour of my life so it’s not a decision I took lightly. I definitely did think about it and pray about it and I know that this is the right decision for me.”
“I needed a change and it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve actually enjoyed my training. It’s brought the spark back to me. I think I fell out of love with the sport over the last year, I’d been in the amateurs for so long and I needed to focus on new goals and go on a new journey.”
“Over the last couple of months training with Ross, I feel like he’s getting the best out of me and it’s great when you are seeing the results for yourself and feel like you are getting stronger and fitter – there’s nothing better as an athlete.”
Besides Taylor vs. Kopinka more exciting bouts are awaiting us in London - John Wayne Hibbert and Martin Gethin clash in a must-win Super-Lightweight fight, Ohara Davis challenges Andrea Scarpa for the WBC Super-Lightweight title, Martin J. Ward tries to defend his British Super-Featherweight belt against Ronnie Clark, Ben Hall clashes with Carson Jones, Reece Bellotti meets Ian Bailey for the vacant English Featherweight crown, and while Conor Benn has been forced to pull out with shingles, youngsters Jake Ball, Craig Richards and Ted Cheeseman look to end the year with a bang.
