Katie Taylor wants to emulate the achievements of UFC stars Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm and take women’s professional boxing to the next level.
The American fighters are household names in the world of mixed martial arts and the Olympic gold medallist, who turned pro last month, is aiming to use her profile to raise the awareness around her sport.
“I’d love to take women’s professional boxing to the next level,” the 30-year-old told RTÉ.
“I have got big dreams, I’d love to be headlining shows and winning plenty of world titles.
“People don’t really know anything about it and I feel like I’ve broken down a lot of barriers in the amateur game and I’d love to do the same in the pro game.
“You look at the likes of Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm and they are headlining shows in the UFC and I’d love to bring the same thing into professional boxing.”
"If you want to achieve greatness in anything, there is a price" - @KatieTaylor on the #latelate https://t.co/X34OnT99fq
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) November 18, 2016
The Bray fighter begins her pro career against Poland’s Karina Kopinska in London on 26 November and has been training in America in the build up to her debut.
Talking about her move from the amateur scene, Taylor said: “The professional game is a bit more ruthless all right and the people watching professional boxing do love to see knock outs and they like to see a bit of blood, I suppose.
“I do have to be a bit more ruthless. This was the right time to turn pro.
“It’s great, I’m busy with training every single week but there are times when it is quite lonely, you are away from your family for so long.
“I think if you want to achieve greatness in anything there is a price tag to that.
“You have to pay the price if you want to live the dream and I definitely feel that I am living the dream out there and it’s more of a privilege rather than a sacrifice.
“I train with the very best. I have got big dreams and hopes to become a world champion and to unify the belts.”
