Bray fighter Katie Taylor made history last night in Manchester by becoming a two-weight world boxing champion.
She becomes only the third Irish fighter to win world titles in two divisions, after Steve Collins and Carl Frampton.
The 33-year-old saw off Greek opponent Christina Linardatou with a unanimous points victory to add the WBO super-lightweight belt to her collection.
Speaking at her post-fight press conference, Taylor said she was overwhelmed with the latest victory.
“This is incredible. I was getting very emotional in the ring because that’s what it meant to me. I’m so overwhelmed by the support there tonight.
“To be a two-weight world champion, a multi-weight world champion is what every fighter dreams of.
Two weight World Champion!
Overwhelmed by all the support and kind comments, thank you. pic.twitter.com/m3sSVW4NJZ— Katie Taylor (@KatieTaylor) November 3, 2019
"I became an undisputed world champion a few months ago and now here I am as a two-weight world champion. It just keeps getting better and better.”
Taylor also spoke about her upcoming fight options, and she acknowledged she has plenty of directions in which she could go.
“It’s great, actually. There is no shortage of huge fights out there for me.
"When I first sat down with Eddie Hearn a few years ago we didn’t really know what way this journey would go. To see so many options, so many big fights out there, big headline fights, history-making fights, is very, very exciting.
"I think the fights are going to happen anyway. Eventually, I’ll shut them up. I’m going to have a chance to shut them all up.
☝️☝️ @KatieTaylor 👑
Huge 2020 coming up! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VyAdtlQp8s— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 3, 2019
Promoter Eddie Hearn was also full of praise for last night's history-maker and her mountain of Irish support.
“We’ve been building for this for a long time. I remember when she had her debut in Wembley and we had a couple hundred Irish up there. Tonight, I know [Anthony] Crolla sold a lot of tickets and it was in his hometown but there was a lot of Irish in there. A lot of Irish.
"The great thing about the support for Katie is that we know in Ireland she’ll always be a legend and they will always back her. But everybody else is now. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Manchester or London or New York or Boston or Philadelphia. All these places.
“Look back at what she has achieved in such a short space of time. Not just the undisputed lightweight world champion, not just the WBO light-welterweight world champion but everywhere she has been. Everywhere she has boxed. All the ground she has broken.”
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
