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Katie Taylor has announced that she has turned down offers from the professional ranks and will remain boxing in the amateur code.
The current Olympic, World, European and EU lightweight champion made the announcement on Today FM today.
“The thing with professional boxing is you have to have the right promoter and the right fights. It is a cut-throat business. You have to make sure you have the right people around you to get the right fights and you’re not guaranteed to get the best fights, said the soon to be three-time AIBA World Female Boxer of the year
“With amateur boxing, you’re just entered into a competition. And to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. You’re not waiting around to get these fights organised.
“As an amateur you might be fighting five or six times in a week and you have to make the weight all week. It’s gruelling on the body. So to win an amateur world title is a lot harder than to win a professional world title.
“For me there is nothing better than boxing for my country and bringing home medals for my country.”
Taylor will now be aiming for her 6th,5th and 2nd – all in-a-row – titles at the 2013 European Championships, the 2014 AIBA World Women’s Championship in Canada and 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Tommy Murphy, President of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, said that they were delighted with today’s announcement.
“We are very happy that Katie has made this decision, very much so. Katie’s record speaks for itself, he said.
She has been an unprecedented success and I believe that if she goes to the Rio Olympics in 2016 she will win another gold medal.
“Katie is a fantastic ambassador for the sport inside and outside the ring and more and more young females are becoming involved in boxing because of her tremendous influence.
“Hopefully, if Katie qualifies for the Rio Olympics there will be other female boxers on the Irish team with her in 2016.”
