Katie Taylor to make first title defence on December 15th

New world champion likely to fight in London before Dublin homecoming next April

Katie Taylor with manager Brian Peters (L) and promoter Eddie Hearn. Photograph: Oisin Keniry/Inpho
Katie Taylor with manager Brian Peters (L) and promoter Eddie Hearn. Photograph: Oisin Keniry/Inpho

Ireland's newest world champion Katie Taylor is set to headline show in the UK, probably London, on December 15th - according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Her first defence will take place just six weeks after she won her WBA lightweight title in Cardiff last weekend, on the undercard of world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua.

The 31-year-old Olympic gold medallist will then attempt to unify the lightweight division with a homecoming bout in Ireland in April of next year.

That is expected to take place in Dublin’s 3 Arena.

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Taylor earned her first professional world championship, having won five amateur world titles, on Saturday with a points victory over Argentine, Anahi Sanchez, in the Principality Stadium.

Now that she has a professional belt, it is expected that the problems she has had finding opponents over the past year will ease up considerably.

Taylor leaves for the US at the weekend where she will prepare for the December fight with trainer Ross Enamait in Conneticut.

“She’s huge here in Ireland and although the plan is to grow the Katie Taylor brand all over the world, ultimately, we need to return here and we need to have that big fight,” said promoter Hearn.

“She is incredibly entertaining to watch in world boxing. Forget male or female boxing, world boxing. It has always been Katie is the first to this, the first to do that. The win on Saturday really took her to a new level. That gives us the springboard to really go on and break down major barriers.”

Taylor is taking the fight despite sustaining a cut over her right eye, the first cut she has ever had in boxing apart from a bloody nose.

“It was a step up for me and a great learning curve,” said Katie. “I’m going to take that in future fights. This is only the start.”

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times