Will Katie Taylor go professional post 2012 Olympics?

ForeverYoung90

Well done to Katie on her 4th World Championship win.Now heres hopeing she goes on to fulfill her dream of winning Olympic gold in London this summer.

But it just got me thinking where this super athlete can go from there presuming she wins the gold.She will have done it all in amateur boxing.

America are realising that Womens Boxing can be big business and Katie could be massive.Not only is she the best amateur boxer in the world she is also a beautiful looking 26 year old woman.She would be a promoters dream and could make a fortune in big fight nights and advertising deals.

cowzerp

I don't think she will to be honest, also it won't affect her legacy as in this case Pro does not mean better-just means that they do it for a living-she's already beat the girl who is the Pro World champ right now and Boxes because she loves it-the money would have to be very big in my opinion to get her to go pro

I do thinks she could do well in Ireland but outside i don't know if the interest would be there to sell massive amount of tickets etc..

Either way, 1st she needs to keep the head and win the Olympics-Lot's of pressure but she is great at handling it..

Bluefoam

She has already made a statement that she would like to go pro, but her trainer/father is against the move. She also said that she reckons she earns more money now as an amateur than most pros do...

Don't forget that she has an advertising deal with Lukozade & a free car from Toyota. She probably also gets a sporting grant from the country & possibly some aid from the lotto. If you see the gym she works from, you will realise her expenditure is not huge...

Bob the Seducer

I'd expect her to stay amateur to be honest. It's likely that the vast majority of her career earnings will come from sponsorship deals regardless of whether she's amateur or pro.
For better or worse, it's easier to legitamise women's boxing in amateur terms. The professional game is still very much seen as a sideshow, the highest profile women's boxer of recent times is probably Laila Ali whose fame derives more from the fact she is Muhammad Ali's daughter than her fight career.

If you take it that Katie's ability is one of the driving forces behind women's boxing becoming an Olympic sport then her staying amateur would be of as much benefit to the sport as it is to her. I could see the creation of women's divisions in the World Series of Boxing (or something similar) as a way of holding on to the top amateur women and continuing the development of the sport.

Draupnir

If she wins Gold, I would advise her to retire. Going out at the very top of the game like that is something that a lot of boxers don't have the opportunity to do.

She could do a lot for women's boxing post retirement by really pushing it as a sport in this country.

cowzerp

Draupnir wrote: »

If she wins Gold, I would advise her to retire. Going out at the very top of the game like that is something that a lot of boxers don't have the opportunity to do.

She could do a lot for women's boxing post retirement by really pushing it as a sport in this country.

Retire! And take up knitting and tell the kids how she was a great boxer back in the day. :P

Draupnir

I didn't mean it that way! She could retire with her legacy intact, the greatest exponent of her own sport ever, become an ambassador (perhaps even administrator) for the sport when it badly needs one and drive forward participation amongst girls all over Ireland (and the world).

Thinking about it though, 26 is a bit young to retire, 30 after the Rio games would be almost perfect.

Spazdarn

Yeah 26 is far too young considering how far ahead of the pack she is, even 30 might be too early for someone of her ability. She has years upon years of World titles and possibly gold medals ahead of her

gene_tunney

I wouldn't like to see her turn pro. If she wins Olympic gold, that's as much recognition as she is likely to get from women's boxing. Besides, I very much doubt she would earn much money out of it. Also, I feel style is definitely a style more suited to amateur boxing.

ausboxa

I really dont think she will to be honest. As much as I would love her to-being a boxer myself-the professional ranks are a completely different game!

barney4001

She is doing very well for herself as she is and is young enough to go on to next Olympics and hopefully defend her title which Katie is pretty good at