2023 Women’s Fighter Of The Year – Katie Taylor
The consensus over the past few years has been that Katie Taylor is ageing, slowing down and that her best years are past her.
Taylor’s historic bout with Amanda Serrano was the fight that people thought we’d see as the beginning of the end but the P4P #1 managed to do just enough to nick a razor-tight decision in their fight of the year contender.
The pair were meant to rematch on May 20 this year but Serrano pulled out of the fight as it was too soon after her war with Erika Cruz.
In came Chantelle Cameron, a bigger, stronger and fresher woman. Taylor-Cameron was a fight that had been talked about for years with some experts confident that Cameron was the woman to dethrone Taylor.
Much to the dismay of the sold-out 3 Arena, Cameron did just that and pulled off a minor bookies’ upset in Dublin earlier this year.
Fans had pretty much ruled out any chance of Taylor beating Cameron in their rematch, ‘rematchroom’, ‘another pointless rematch’ – you get the picture.
But Taylor defied all odds and produced a near-perfect performance when it mattered more than ever before.
Whilst some will criticise her tactics, which involved smothering Cameron’s work and not allowing her to get leverage on her punches, it was effective.
Taylor showed why she was so masterful in the unpaid ranks, using her fast feet, sharp counter-punching and blistering combinations to enact revenge on the British women and become a two-weight undisputed champion.
Honourable Mentions For Women’s Fighter Of The Year
- Amanda Serrano – 3 wins + Undisputed title
- Chantelle Cameron 1-1 with Taylor
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Image: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing