Katie to go Pro!

spear thrower

News reports say she is gonna turn pro.. Big shame imo would have loved to see her winning an Olympic Gold 2012! Only real hope Ireland had..

cowzerp

Rubbish report so, if she does it will be after the Olympics.

plus where is the link to the story as otherwise its pointless.

Rob113

bullsh1t. She wont go pro before the olympics. She is probably the main reason womens boxing was allowed into the olympics

Big Ears

Source ?

joepenguin

Highly doubt it this side of 2012.

walshb

How old is Katie? 23/24?

2 1/2 years to London is a long enough time to maintain focus
and commitment as an amateur. If she is being tempted by money it
will make the wait that bit harder.

joepenguin

walshb wrote: »

How old is Katie? 23/24?

2 1/2 years to London is a long enough time to maintain focus
and commitment as an amateur. If she is being tempted by money it
will make the wait that bit harder.

Would there be enough money in womens boxing to lure an athlete away from the chance at a world title? Surely her earning potential would multiply a lot if she turned pro with olympic gold?

Jigga

This thread is rubbish, lock it mods!

steve-collins

Jigga wrote: »

This thread is rubbish, lock it mods!

its not rubbish it was reported in the star today she has been offered big bucks to go pro in germany and usa , and also in the star a few weeks ago that she got a big offer to go pro in america for 100,000 euro

although i would be very surprised if she did go pro

walshb

Jigga wrote: »

This thread is rubbish, lock it mods!

Patience!

I read the Star report. Gogarty makes some valid points, but the point about Taylor winning the gold as being a "given," is a little naive.

The proam debate is irritating Taylor's camp and who knows, she may just be lured by the money, and who could blame her? It's a tough sport, and tougher when you aren't making much money from it

T-K-O

I think we all know this is BS.

BTW go easy on the locking of thread, we are here to discuss such stories, that being said nothing much to discuss here.

walshb

I have to be honest, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Taylor turned pro.
Now, this is just an analogy, but Khan turned pro aged 18 when he
had even more time than Taylor. He was a real prospect for a gold
in Beijing, actually from looking at the LW and JWW divisions, he was
more a given I would say than Taylor will be in 2012. Money talks, and if it's
the right money, why shouldn't she go pro?

T-K-O

You cannot seriously compare the men and the womens pro game.

walshb

I didn't compare them; I used an analogy.
Money lured Khan, and with Taylor, money will
lure her.

I am not saying the money is equal, I am simply saying that Taylor has 30 months to
wait for the games, and that is long enough for anything to happen.

She may be getting several good offers to go pro that will prove difficult
to turn down. She is not a guarantee to win gold and maybe the gamble on
waiting is too much. Right now she is the best and is a potential great pro, but
who can say the situation will be the same in late 2012

Vintagekits

walshb wrote: »

I didn't compare them; I used an analogy.

stop trying to confuss me wit yer fancy book learnin!!

joepenguin

walshb wrote: »

I didn't compare them; I used an analogy.
Money lured Khan, and with Taylor, money will
lure her.

I am not saying the money is equal, I am simply saying that Taylor has 30 months to
wait for the games, and that is long enough for anything to happen.

She may be getting several good offers to go pro that will prove difficult
to turn down. She is not a guarantee to win gold and maybe the gamble on
waiting is too much. Right now she is the best and is a potential great pro, but
who can say the situation will be the same in late 2012

Well Khan already had olympic silver so would the option of hanging around to compete for gold in 4 years time be a good one considering the moneys he would make as Warrens star prospect? Plus the amount of fights he had in those 4 years would have been the equivalent to a years worth of amature fights for a lot less money. Plus getting the pro experience that early is invaluable.

Katie is the best female in world amature boxing and a favourite to get gold in 2012. In front of her lies the oppurtunity to be the first Irish female olympian boxer, and one of the first gold medallists in womens olympic boxing.

I dont know much about womens pro boxing due to its lack of coverage but i bet it has no prize as precious as olympic gold.

cowzerp

She does ok out of the High Performance thing and seems to get jobs on RTE etc now and again so for an amateur is doing well, in 2 years her marketing ability will be huge When she wins Gold! the only way she wont is if the chinese bring a lady boxer out of nowhere to beat her and tbh they wont have the competitive fight experience and that will see Katie reach gold, the only way i see her losing it is through injury or illness.

walshb

Guys, I am a big Taylor fan and happen to think she is one of Ireland's greatest
ever sports stars; but I wouldn't be over confident of anything in 2012. Right now, I'd bet a lot on Taylor to win gold, but in 30 months time, anything or anyone can happen.

We are talking about the U.S.; U.K, France, Germany, India, China etc. Surely somewhere on this planet there is real talent that will be challenging for gold. If Katie remains 100 percent focused and improves in the next 2 years, then she is a real bet for gold.

I just hope we here in Ireland do all we can to ensure she does stay amateur and does
have every chance to win gold in London. She will be tempted and that temptation will be harder and harder as time ticks by.

cowzerp

walshb/ wrote:

She will be tempted and that temptation will be harder and harder as time ticks by.

have to disagree Bren, if she does not go pro now the closer to the games it goes the more she'll want to achieve the Olympic dream, becoming the 1st female Boxing Olympian and probably Champion is just amazing, plus her marketability will be so much higher with an olympic medal, especially gold on her neck that she'll make much more money than if she went pro now..

Short term greediness over long term success, she's smart and well looked after and im quite sure she'd wait for the latter.

walshb

cowzerp wrote: »

have to disagree Bren, if she does not go pro now the closer to the games it goes the more she'll want to achieve the Olympic dream, becoming the 1st female Boxing Olympian and probably Champion is just amazing, plus her marketability will be so much higher with an olympic medal, especially gold on her neck that she'll make much more money than if she went pro now..

Short term greediness over long term success, she's smart and well looked after and im quite sure she'd wait for the latter.

Paul, that's perfect IF it works out like that. This is my point. If Katie had a crystal ball and could see the Gold and the success and fame and THEN the big pro contract, then that is perfect. But, this is not a certainty, it is a gamble, especially when now or in the near future she will be getting good money offers to turn pro. Like I said, a lot can happen in 30 months.

joker77

It must be very hard for her, decision wise. I mean the Olympics comes down to a week of competition. So in the build-up to that, she could be far and away the best bet for gold, on paper. But say in her final fight before the Olympics she picks up an injury, or in the week of competition gets a bad flu or virus, anything really could mean the gold medal is out of her control. As I say, must be very hard to stake 3 years of your life on something like that.

[Edit] I know she can't, doesn't and won't think like that...

cowzerp

As a pro she'd be making very little as things stand, if she wins gold then the odds are she'll take over from dunne for selling out the point every fight, nice little earners every few months, and would make all sorts of advertising revenue from it, as a pro she'd be just another boxer, unless she was olympic champ 1st..

I think your over estimating the money she could make right now.

joker77

I think there'd want to be a lot of male boxers on the card to sell out the point, big as her profile would get I still don't see women's boxing drawing the same numbers

Big Ears

joker77 wrote: »

I think there'd want to be a lot of male boxers on the card to sell out the point, big as her profile would get I still don't see women's boxing drawing the same numbers

You put Katie Taylor in a World title fight as a pro and she'll sell out the point, I'm almost certain of that.

At least the first time she'd fight for a title that is. In women's pro boxing there's just as many 'World titles' about, except the quality and depth is much weaker than Male boxers. Top women amateur fighters actually tend to be better than their pro counterparts.

It wouldn't be long(4/5 fights if they wanted) before she could fight for a World title as a pro, and on a card like that I could see her selling the Point out pretty much on her own. From then on though I could see the challenge in selling the place out, and she'd probably have to drop down to a smaller venue like the Citywest or even the stadium.

It would take 'unification' fights and as tough matchmaking as possible to keep the fans interested during Taylor's pro career. If she was as dominant as a pro(which imo would be quite likely) I think people could lose interest somewhat and she'd become part of the undercard for Male fighters such as Lee.

All speculation but it's more reason for her to stay amateur at the moment.
Things are going perfect in her career, and she should be picking up a Gold medal at the Olympics in 2 1/2 years time.

T-K-O

How much money could she make as a pro in the womens game. I would imagine not a lot. She has a sweet deal at the moment and I would be shocked if anything changed. Even after the Olympics I wouldnt be surprised if she stayed on as an amateur.

walshb

I wouldn't say she is being offered as much as a rising male, but the fact that it's being reported and speculated about, then it's safe to assume that the option may well be on her mind.

T-K-O

I have not doubt the option is there but I would assume such an offer is not half as tempting as a male boxer.

walshb

But, what if the option is still a deal better than remaining amateur and HOPING all goes according to plan? That is what would concern me, and if that option is a deal better than staying amateur, then the IABA and whoever is responsible for Katie's bid to grab gold, should rethink their
deal/deals

T-K-O

I dont think that mega offer is out there. Katie will do just fine as she is.

mjon3105

Bren:
Have read your views which I always respect but don't think anyone really understands as yet what is "really happening behind the scenes" and why we are where we are today. (myself included)
As others have said KT has been one of the prime reasons why Womens boxing was accepted in the Games. For many years the Taylor family have chased that dream of KT standing on the podium with a GOLD. (As you also know I have been one of a small number where on this and other forums have always said a lot can happen between 2009 and 2012) especially withthe growth of boxing and the sheer volume of money thrown at it by others nations inc but not exclusively Russian,China,India.

The Taylors have always known that there is little worldwide acceptance of womens boxing yet and though there are indeed modest sums available in USA,Russia and nearer home in Germany personally I doubt of the outlay would even recover the VERY CONSIDERABLE sums of family money paid by the Taylors to achieve their Daughter's and their ambititions.,ambitions focused first and foremost on an Olympic medal. (had money been a prime factor would she not have gone pro after the pre-Beijing rebuff for her sport.?

Almost everyone who knows her speaks highly of what this modest young woman has already achieved, agreed, in recent years with some good funding from the Irish Sports Council and no doubt to some,albeit a much lesser extent from IABA.

It is clear here that there is a behind the scenes major ongoing dispute being fought. Luckily it is now only Feb 2010 not Summer 2012. Pete Taylor is an exceptionally astute Yorkshire man who has achieved wonders for his daughter's career.The support of Mum Bridget and rest of the family is also tremendous. This is a close knit family they will act as TEAM TAYLOR and remain UNITED to the end.

Does anyone SERIOUSLY believe that KT, having given up so many years when she could have turned PRO is going to do so unless the |Taylors are DRIVER TO DESPERATION? I doubt it. And with the greatest respect to Katie even the world's top amateur cannot go from being a world amateur champion to a world pro-champion overnight. Future opponents are such as Holly Holm (she also has Irish connections). Just google one of her fights on say You Tube and compare her with say KT v Caroline Barry.THe present difference is considerable.

What is now needed is that commonsense prevails and that the existing differences which (on paper seem mainly to link to "the forthcoming pro-am event" is resolved to the satisfaction of all before Ireland loses one of its best,indeed probably its best GOLD medal prospect for Londfon. Time for Pat Hickey of OCI ,John Treacy of ISC and Irish Chef de Mission for 2010 London, Sonia O'Sullivan to offer some sensible advice and find a solution which in relation to pro-am should not be especially difficult.And preferably not with a Media circus watching every move.

Could there be another factor? Perhaps the IABA are 'unhappy" with Pete Taylor being a member of the Irish coaching team for London?

After all the unhelpful articles in the red tops media in Dublin in recent weeks it is good to see that at least one of our more professional journalists has spoken out today.For those who have not read it here is a link to the VINCENT HOGAN article

"http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/vincent-hogan-iaba-must-treat-taylor-as-a-person--not-a-commodity-2042085.html


One last thought: IF the Taylors are sufficiently aggrieved it could well be that KT qualifies (no lady has yet qualified) for London as a member of the British team? After all her Dad is English ... is that a potential scenario that any of us would welcome?


Mike

walshb wrote: »

But, what if the option is still a deal better than remaining amateur and HOPING all goes according to plan? That is what would concern me, and if that option is a deal better than staying amateur, then the IABA and whoever is responsible for Katie's bid to grab gold, should rethink their
deal/deals

walshb

Mike, thanks for the link. Great points from you. I just hope that whatever is needed to keep Katie an
amateur, at least up until London, she gets.

For the record, I do not agree with the mixing of the pros and amateurs on shows.

barney4001

walshb wrote: »

Guys, I am a big Taylor fan and happen to think she is one of Ireland's greatest
ever sports stars; but I wouldn't be over confident of anything in 2012. Right now, I'd bet a lot on Taylor to win gold, but in 30 months time, anything or anyone can happen.

We are talking about the U.S.; U.K, France, Germany, India, China etc. Surely somewhere on this planet there is real talent that will be challenging for gold. If Katie remains 100 percent focused and improves in the next 2 years, then she is a real bet for gold.

I just hope we here in Ireland do all we can to ensure she does stay amateur and does
have every chance to win gold in London. She will be tempted and that temptation will be harder and harder as time ticks by.

yes 30 months is a long time for Katie to wait,but how much would she earn between now and then as a pro has to be weighed against her winning gold and the sponserships that would come with the gold medal which she still has to win,a hard one to call i think,as Katie must surely qualify for a grant from the boxing board

Jarren

spear thrower wrote: »

News reports say she is gonna turn pro.. Big shame imo would have loved to see her winning an Olympic Gold 2012! Only real hope Ireland had..

BRAY'S BOXING champion Katie Taylor is reported to be considering an offer to turn professional in America, writes Mark

Kennedy.

According to press reports the 23-yearold world and European champion is being offered a whopping €100,000 to change her boxing status to professional on the far side on the Atlantic.

Such a career change for the Bray lass would mean giving up her long-cherished dream of winning an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 Games in London.

Taylor, who recently retained her world boxing title, having also won four Europeans, is being offered a big pay day to trade punches with New Mexico southpaw Holly Holm in a high-profile showdown.

Holm from Albuquerque has held no less than seven world title belts at light-welter, welter and light middleweight.

A pro boxer for eight years, Holm is presently the Women's Intentional Boxing Association championship at welterweight.

In contrast Taylor, who is also an Irish soccer international, has topped the world amateur rankings for the last three years.

A showdown between herself and Holm is very appealing prospect for boxing aficionados.

Reports also suggest that Katie Taylor has been approached by sources in Britain with a view to her boxing for Britain in the next Olympics in London.

And the reports suggest that both Taylor and her dad Peter were far from happy with the IABA over its decision to block her from competing on pro-am shows – similar to the one last March when she appeared on the programme with Bernard Dunne.

http://www.braypeople.ie/sport/other-sports/taylor-rumoured-to-be-considering-turning-pro-2039346.html

differance ..no?:rolleyes:

barney4001

I see katie lost her first fight recently to a russian i think

barney4001

cowzerp wrote: »

Rubbish report so, if she does it will be after the Olympics.

plus where is the link to the story as otherwise its pointless.

Well she will surely get a sizable grant from the IABA for her training etc

mathepac

steve-collins wrote: »

its not rubbish it was reported in the star today ...

That makes it de facto rubbish. If the Oirish Daily Wail reported it as well that doubles the chances of it being complete makey-up tripe.

walshb wrote: »

Guys, I am a big Taylor fan and happen to think she is one of Ireland's greatest ever sports stars; ...

+1 As a footballer and boxer she is without equal, amateur or pro, male or female.

Apart from her athletic prowess she is one smart lady and she know that an Olympic title will enhance her pro boxing (if she goes that way) and her post-boxing earning potential.

What she has achieved is incredible. She boxes what looks like the perfect amateur game scoring loads of points, but she hurts people as well. None of your pretty tappetty-tappetty stuff, she has a really good dig and has hurt men who've sparred with her.

Feargal as Luimneach

If KT turns pro the general public might turn against her. She after all "campaigned" hard to get women's boxing at the London Games. After all that hassle to turn her back on the olympics. The irish public are fickle.

Would she sell out the O2? IMO i don't think so. Who here in all fairness watches women's pro boxing? I've never seen people getting up in the middle of the night looking for streams for women's fights!

Money Shot

Rob113 wrote: »

She is probably the main reason womens boxing was allowed into the olympics

How is she the main reason women's boxing is being allowed in the olympics ? Not being smart, just don't understand your point.

Money Shot

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Who here in all fairness watches women's pro boxing? I've never seen people getting up in the middle of the night looking for streams for women's fights!

I love boxing, and even though the 'irish sports person whos good at a minortity sport' bandwagon is rolling with pace, I can't even pretend or fake an interest in womens boxing and more than I could in women's football or rugby. I wish her all the best, but I have no interest in a sub standard product.

mjon3105

Question:-

Is there any suggestion of late that she is even considering turning pro? I can't see any evidence or suggestion in anything since the original "Star" and "Mail" stories earlier in the year?

I saw her win in London two weeks ago when covering the "International Box Cup" event at Alexandra Palace. She was certainly looking forward to the 2012 Games then and I can't believe anything has changed since.(She only beat Norway's Ingrid Egner by a majority decision but how the Norwegian judge voted Egner to have won all 4 rounds remains a mystery to me! I do admit that Ingrid fought a gallant fight, her best ever showing against Taylor but win all 4 rounds (or even 1?) never.

She was looking forward (at the post fight press conference ) to defending her European Union title in Pecs in week one of August and her World title in Barbados in mid-September.

I did see that she is back playing football again as this report from the
Western People shows - and seemingly played very well at the weekend:-

http://www.westernpeople.ie/news/story/?trs=eygbqlojoj&cat=sport

You will recall that the Taylors were very annoyed early in the year when the IABA refused her permission to take part in a pro-am./ Later in the Spring the relented and gave their approval for her to appear on the Andy Lee bill in Limerick. Before that later approval these quotes from Daragh O'Conchuir of teh "Irish Examiner" and from Taylor:-

D.O'C: -"She will definitely not hold the threat of switching allegiances to England or turning pro over the IABA however. She is eligible to fight for Britain on the basis that her father and coach, Pete, is English but has never even considered it."

KT:- "There’s no way, no way I would have boxed for England. I’m 100% Irish.

KT: "I’m gonna stay amateur for the Olympics. It’s always been my dream at the end of the day."




mjon3105

rovert

Sorry to bumped such a contentious thread but this seems to be the most recent. Just listened to this interview:

http://radiotime.com/program/p_213985/Miriam_Meets.aspx

For the short term at least she makes her thoughts on turning pro quite clear.