Katie Taylor has spent 2021 doing exactly what she's done for her entire career – winning.
The undisputed lightweight champion of the world has gone in search of the toughest fights and the sternest challenges and has consistently come out on top.
Having signed off on 2020 with a convincing victory over Spanish fighter Miriam Gutierrez and being named the 2020 RTÉ Sport Sportsperson of the Year, Taylor had to wait longer than she would have liked for her first bout of 2021.
A unified welterweight title fight against Cecilia Braekhus was originally slated for her first bout of the year before the Norwegian fighter suffered a shock defeat to America's Jessica McCaskill, who Taylor had previously beaten in 2017.
A long-awaited rematch with England’s Natasha Jonas, who Taylor beat on her way to Olympic gold in 2012, was the Bray fighter’s first challenge of the year in May and it was a fight worth waiting for.
Taylor was forced to dig deep to maintain all five world title belts and unblemished record as Jonas turned in perhaps the best performance of her career to really compete with the champion.
The ten-round contest was secured with all three judges awarding the fight to Taylor, albeit perhaps a bit too close for comfort for the champion, as it was scored 96-94 96-95 96-95.
The Irish fighter was back in action in September when she took on IBF mandatory challenger Jennifer Han in front of a raucous and enthusiastic Leeds crowd..
The fight will not go down as a classic but Taylor was never in trouble and always in control against a wily veteran, winning all ten rounds comfortably.
All three judges scored the fight 100-89, with an eighth-round knock-down the highlight of the bout for Taylor as she extended her perfect professional record to 19-0.
The Bray native has one more challenge in store this year before tucking into her Christmas dinner and she will make her fifth undisputed title defence this weekend when she meets Kazakhstan fighter Firuza Sharipova in Liverpool.
The mandatory challenger has been training with Taylor's great amateur rival, Sofya Ochigava. The Russian is one of the few fighters to ever defeat Taylor although she was edged out by the Irish woman in their tense 2012 Olympic final.
Sharipova is certainly not lacking for confidence heading into the fight, confidently talking up her chances but Taylor has overcome bigger and tougher challenges throughout her career and when the midnight bells chime on New Year’s Eve, expect her record to stand at 20-0.
Joanne Cantwell and Darragh Maloney will present the RTÉ Sport Awards 2021 on Saturday 18 December on RTÉ One.
The Sportsperson of the Year is selected by a judging panel. The criteria can be read here.
