Such was the excitement, the atmosphere and the sense of occasion in New York, that it was always going to be the boxing highlight of the year as Katie Taylor topped the bill at Madison Square Garden.
A unique and historic night in mid-town Manhattan as Katie put all her world titles on the line against the teak-tough Amanda Serrano, and came out with all five belts intact.
As hard a fight as she has ever encountered, the packed-out iconic arena got more than their money's worth as the ten-round world title contest covered every emotion available for the Puerto Ricans, the travelling Irish and the New York fight fans.
An incredible night and the climax of another of another trailblazing travail through the professional ranks of the oft-complex boxing world, a road not too dissimilar to the one a younger version of herself walked all the way to Olympic gold in 2012.
The summit reached on that last night of April, however, not the end for Taylor who scoffed at talk of retirement as she plots another chapter or three of her amazing journey through the this sweetest of science.
Taylor was back in the ring for a business-as-usual defence of her belts, beating Karen Carabajal via a unanimous decision at the Wembley Arena in October.
So it was no surprise really that the Bray boxer picked up her third RTÉ Sport Sportsperson of the Year award earlier this month, and expect more fireworks from Katie in 2023, as she eyes that arena fight in Dublin to finally fight as a professional in her homeland.
Kellie Harrington opted against following Taylor into the professional ranks following her incredible 2021 when she brought the gold medal home from the Tokyo Olympics.
Instead the genial Dubliner focused on the next edition of the Games, which takes place in Paris in 2024.
Harrington missed out on the Worlds earlier this year through injury, but came back with a bang at the European Championships in Montenegro.
The Olympic champion looked back to her best in Budva, as she secured safe passage to the final before securing another gold medal to add to her collection – the road to Paris now very much underway.
Katie and Kellie, Kellie and Katie, the two boxers are now synonymous with the sport in this country, and while it was Taylor who took the RTÉ award this year, it could well have gone to another female boxer who jumped right out of their shadows throughout 2022.
Amy Broadhurst has been making big noises for several years now on the international boxing scene, however, the Dundalk native had a year to remember over the past 12 months as she dominated her division.
Broadhurst played a major role helping Katie Taylor to prepare for that historic New York night at Madison Square Garden, and the relentless sparring with the undisputed lightweight champion of the world, no doubt, contributed greatly to the most successful year of her own career.
Just weeks after Katie’s big night in the Big Apple, Broadhurst was back in the amateur Ireland singlet competing in the light welterweight division at the World Championships in Turkey.
Broadhurst made it all the way to the final before Algeria’s Imane Khelif stood between her and a gold medal in the division decider.
And despite the massive 13cm height difference between the two boxers, Broadhurst was immediately effective against her rangy opponent, with her quick hands and fast feet, produced a string of excellent combinations early in the first round in a fine display of hitting and not getting hit.
Broadhurst proved too much for her opponent throughout the opening two rounds, and then kept the tempo high as she maintained her dominance in the closing stanza to put the decision beyond doubt, taking a comprehensive 5:0 victory to secure gold.
And that was just the start for Broadhurst in 2022, as she went on to take gold at the summer Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, representing Northern Ireland, before securing the triple crown at the European championships in Montenegro, proving too good for Ukraine’s Mariia Bova in the final.
Only one Irishman has won the coveted gold medal at the amateur World Championships - Michael Conlan stood atop the podium in the 2015 event in Doha – however, there are now four women champions on that remarkable role of honour.
Katie has five – a record unlikely to ever be surpassed – while Kellie secured gold in 2018, and following Amy into the ring at this year’s tournament was Roscommon native Lisa O’Rourke.
The Castlerea competitor had a breakthrough year in 2022 and she did it in style as she dominated throughout en route to the final of the light middleweight competition.
Just 30 minutes after Broadhurst became Ireland’s fourth world gold medallist, O’Rourke became the fifth as she defeated Mozambique’s Alcinda Helena Panguane.
Opting to fight the opening round on the back foot, O'Rourke stayed out of range of her aggressive opponent and then appeared to score at ease while on the move.
Panguane upped the tempo at the start of the second, however, her composure was badly affected as a result, and she looked clumsy trying to hunt O’Rourke down as the Irish fighter continued to score in what was a very stylish performance.
O’Rourke then finished with a really energetic performance and aggressive approach in the final round to secure the 4:1 split decision and take home the gold medal.
Following in the footsteps of her successful sister, it was Aoife O’Rourke’s time to fly the Rossies flag in the Europeans later in the year, and the 2020 Olympian made it an O’Rourke double as she took gold in the middleweight division.
It was a remarkable return for the Irish team as O’Rourke’s gold sat side-by-side with Broadhurst and Harrington’s collection as the Zaur Antia-coached unit topped the medals table at the tournament.
Three gold, two silver and three bronze was Ireland’s tally by the end of the nine remarkable days in Montenegro and it was no surprise to see the squad also nominated for the RTÉ Sport Team of the Year.
Caitlin Fryers and Christina Desmond were the silver medal winners, while Shannon Sweeney and Michaela Walsh took the bronze – the Belfast fighter had also secured gold at the Commonwealth Games.
In 2023, the Paris Games come right into focus, and while 16 of Ireland’s 18 boxing medals at previous Olympics have been secured throughout the male divisions, it would now appear that it is the women who are in prime position to add to that ever-growing tally.
