Katie Taylor has claimed that her win over Chantelle Cameron on Saturday night "feels like the greatest night of her career." Taylor and Cameron were part of a bout in Dublin that many describe as the "Fight of the Year," and it did not disappoint.
Bray native Taylor suffered her only loss of her professional career to England's Cameron in May in the 3Arena in Dublin. Cameron won via a majority decision and was the favourite coming into the fight. However, Taylor showed immense courage in the rematch and spirit to avenge her first defeat in the sport. She won by a majority decision to become a two-weight undisputed champion in the sport and has cemented her status as one of Ireland's best-ever sportspeople.
Taylor (38) has achieved so much in her career as an amateur and as a pro. An Olympic gold medallist in 2012, a near-flawless pro record, and she became the holder of multiple titles that include the IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO belts. This is also added to the fact she became the first woman to headline a boxing fight at Madison Square Garden in 2022 when she fought Amanda Serrano there.
One would think that there would be a career highlight from the list mentioned above, but for Taylor, extracting revenge on her rival on Saturday was the one that stands out more than anything else during her career.
"It definitely feels like the greatest night of my career so far," she said after the fight.
"It was the longest six months waiting for this rematch. Over the last few months, I've been going to bed thinking about this rematch.
"The pressure over the last few months, everyone writing me off... I can't believe so many people were writing me off, to be honest. This win meant so much to me, a two-weight undisputed champion in front of my home crowd.
Taylor also mentioned that she felt "offended" by the number of people who didn't believe that she could beat Cameron on Saturday. This has given her great satisfaction on the "special night."
"Coming off a loss, you have to go the extra mile in training. Over the last few months, I've put my body through torture in preparation for this rematch," she said.
"We knew we were going to be well-prepared stepping in here, but I was nearly half-offended that people were writing me off so much. It's great to prove people wrong, and I'm back on top again.
"It was definitely a special night."
The talk and gossip to follow this fight will most definitely be about a trilogy in Croke Park. After the fight, Eddie Hearn speaking ringside said Croke Park must happen. Taylor also gave her insight and backed the request to fight in Ireland's national stadium.
Taylor has done things for women's boxing that, so few have. She now wants to become part of the first women's trilogy, and that, according to her, would be "iconic" in the sport. She is backing that landmark moment to happen in Croke Park.
"I don't think women's boxing has seen a trilogy before," she added.
"One of my favourite fighters is Marco Antonio Barrera. Barrera-[Erik] Morales is the best trilogy you could ever see, so if we could have that type of trilogy, it would be iconic for the sport.
"Even better if we did get it in Croke Park, 80,000 people. That's the stadium we've all wanted for the homecoming so that would be absolutely amazing if that happened."
