Katie Taylor added to Broner-Garcia undercard

Taylor will fight in the United States for the first time as a professional later this month

Irish lightweight Katie Taylor will make her US debut on Saturday, July 29th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Taylor will fight over eight rounds on American soil on the undercard of the Super-Lightweight showdown between four-division world champion Adrien Broner and unbeaten three-division world champion Mikey Garcia.

“I’m really excited about boxing in the US because I’ve been training in Connecticut for all my fights to date,” said Taylor. “It’s great now to actually have a fight over here and especially on such a big card.

“The Barclays Center is a fantastic arena. I was there to see the DeGale Jack fight in January, that was a great fight and the Broner-Garcia fight is another terrific matchup so it’s brilliant to get the opportunity to be part of that event.

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“The last time I fought in the US was almost 10 years ago when I was invited to take part in a demonstration bout at the men’s World Championships in Chicago. It was part of the campaign to convince the IOC to include women’s boxing in the Olympics.

“I stopped my opponent inside a round that night but hopefully I’ll get the chance to get a few more rounds under my belt at The Barclays Center and showcase my ability to a new audience. I’m sure that there’s going to be lots of Irish fans in the crowd on July 29th and I can’t wait to hear them cheering me on.”

The former amateur European, world and Olympic champion has won all five of her professional fights to date, with three inside the distance, and moved into line for a WBA World Lightweight title shot in her last outing in April, when she stopped Nina Meinke at Wembley Stadium in London to collect the WBA Inter-Continental strap.

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times