Katie Taylor: Life After Boxing, The Croke Park Farewell & Leaving a Legacy

Sarah: How are you doing? Good, good, good. I'm gonna grab you for a very quick chat. Nothing nothing too hectic, I promise. Yeah, yeah. A nice little setup, right? Isn't it? What up, fight fans? It is your host Sarah C here from Between the Rounds and I came to the Mike Tyson invitational to meet Mike Tyson, but I got an even better gift. I got to meet and see Katie Taylor again. Katie, thanks for joining No, no problem at all, Sarah. Isn't this event amazing? Amazing. Amazing. Do you remember when we were in NYAC the head of Amanda Serrano third fight and I said to you, What was it like meet meeting Mike Tyson? And you said, sure, he wouldn't even know who I am and look at you now. I know I'm actually invited to to these events but yeah, to be in the in the presence of someone like Mike Tyson, he's such an icon of the sport, but having an opportunity as for these young fighters to actually fight in front of him now tomorrow and I this is insane. Yeah. What an amazing opportunity for these amateur fighters and Having a little having a look at at some of the young talent on board as well. It's it's very, very special. Yeah. But also what you represent to this sport, for you to be invited into this. Like has it sunk in what you truly represent for this sport? Yeah. I don't know if it ha if it has really, but no, it's just a amazing amazing to be here 'cause I I guess I know what it feels like to be in their shoes as a young fighter with big dreams. Yeah. And this is where all the experiences is had, it's where y you learn your trade. It's it's it's in these competitions, you learn how to fight really. you're you're traveling around the world, getting these di different fights, different competitions and this is where the heart of boxing actually is. And so I love being a apart at these events. I love amateur boxing, amateur boxing's in my my heart and blood. So I grew up with that dream of of being an Olympic champion. So amateur boxing is everything to me. And so to this to to be in the presence of some of these young talents, young young fighters and It is very, very special. Officially retired. Yeah. What are you enjoying most? I've been loving your updates on Instagram, seeing a little bit of the the enjoyment of life. Yeah, no, it's been great. I have to say it's been great just to live a life less intense. I don't have to be in the gym every day. I'm still training every day but I'm still training but it's still it's obviously part of my life but but obviously that a lot less intense and just to having the time to actually enjoy it w with family and it's been very, very nice I have to say. but I have to has has Ross roped you into any sparring sessions yet? Not yet actually. But we we were talking about it while there was the one the one of the girls in the gym that actually needs a spar. I'll maybe I'll actually go in and help her out but but I'm thinking to myself I've actually taken too many punches over these last thirty years of my life, so I'm not sure if I will. Exactly, yeah, yeah, exactly. Taking us back to September 5th, what was your fondest memory of that moment and that walkout? Yeah I think it just the whole night is a perfect end to my career really. I'm blown away by by just leaving while watching some of the footage and I think the ring the ring walk for me was the thing that sticks out. I think it's a it was a combination of a few things. It was just a celebration in the stadium that night, a sense of finality. It was seeing my team, Brian Eddie tearing up. It was a song, it was it was the fireworks, all that combined just made this really special moment. This is one of those moments only sport can can really produce. And yeah, I still gave goosebumps to think about watching back on that ring walk. Phenomenal. was even saying to your husband Sean, I was like my Spotify wrapped at the end of the year is gonna have spiritual songs. Thanks, Katie. Is that a good singer? It's a great thing, I swear I'm not running on like all hail to three tunes. Exactly. It's amazing. Yeah, that's my Spotify list, my Dara. It's really inspiring. Yeah, absolutely full of worship music. It's just full of hope, isn't it? Those those songs are so yeah. What would you still train up by the way? Well I'm you know what well that's what I was saying, are you still sparring? 'Cause I had said to Ross, my only biggest regret was not giving you a call and saying, Could I come up for a spar with you at some point? We actually were thinking about that at some stage over the last couple of years because I know that you're only so close Yeah, only so close by, but it obviously never worked out. But I know. No, so I said I turned forty now in February coming up, so I'm not too far behind you, but I had said I had one more tournament in me if I have. And you know yourself when you take a break to get that body back into it it's it's tough so it's tough, yeah, because your your body not used to training twice a day again and having to it's it's a very, very intense lifestyle to to keep up, especially when you're working in between jobs as well. So and the thing I say is like you can be fit but to be fight ready is different. It's definitely different to rocking to the gym just to stay fit in comparison to going to the gym because in a few weeks' time somebody's gonna try and knock you out. Totally there's a different mentality to it, di different mindset. a completely different intensity to to that to that workout. So Is there anything that you're missing about being in camp or just like generally being in that intense training? Yeah, I think I I'm actually a routine kind of person anyway. I do love the routine l of life and I think that's just because my my whole life has been very very routine over the last thirty years 'cause you're getting up your train, you're coming back and wrestling and I think one of the things I do miss is the intensity of the of the gym every now and then. it's an amazing environment. I was saying there r i in the in the Q and A there that every life lesson can be learned in the boxing gym. You're learning car character, you're learning hard work, you're you're learning to fail, you're learning to get back up again. you're learning just to be mentally strong. All of that stuff you you actually learn in the boxing gym. It's an ama it's an amazing environment. And I can't I I'm just so grateful I actually grew up in a boxing gym. My yeah, my whole life was was based in the boxing gym so I always used to say you can't hide in boxing and I learned that how I reacted off emotion and how I dealt with intense situations. I learned all that all through boxing. Yeah, and I all I all I always say the same thing. I think you can every part of life is so much easier w r when you're actually so used to preparing for training camps and preparing for these big fights. my show is called Between the Rounds because as boxers I can really appreciate what that sixty seconds between rounds actually represents. Now this can go back from your amateurs to the pros. When you think back on all of those sixty seconds, what has been the best piece of coaching guidance you got between rounds? I think even the last while you're looking at Ross, just saying enjoy enjoy it now. this is your last round, your last two minutes in the ring, enjoy it. I think when I when a fire goes in to enjoy their their the boxing that's when they they perform the best anyway. but I think Ross has been absolutely brilliant like that. He's been brilliant in in the corner and I'm coming back to a to a corner man who I absolutely trust and who you can you can really rely on his words and I hang on every word he says actually. And so that was beautiful. I w like you know, I used to study your corner work and how locked in you were with him, like locked eyes. There was like Beautiful. Yeah, absolutely. I'm I'm I'm literally hanging on every word he says. And that's the sort of relationship you need with your coach because you're going into battle and there, you're going into war and he's w he's with you every single day for for training camp as well. And so you're in a really together and so yeah, it's it's very, very important to have that that trust in your coach. Yeah. just within that particularly that what has that steadiness through your entire career meant to you it's been just an amazing journey, hasn't it, these last ten years and from turn a pro ten years ago women's boxing was pretty much non existent and look at look at where where it's at now, I can I think that's probably the greatest part about this whole journey is leaving the sport in a better place. And just seeing gr girls now routinely on these big shows and and every single female fighter who steps into the into the gym now is treated with w respect and dignity. It's a big change that when I first walked into the boxing gym as a ten year old where the snickering and laughing from some of the lads in the gym and so and I'm stuck at it. So it's a it's a huge change and I think for me it's that's been the the the greatest part about this whole journey. And what a legacy you leave you leave for the rest to follow. Yeah, absolutely. And look at the the amount of talent that that's that's up and coming out now. Look at the Irish boxing team for example. Phenomenal phenomenal It's absolutely phenomenal. It's it's insane to watch. And super excited to watch what they're what they're gonna do. Yeah. this will be my final question 'cause I think there's questions over I was talking to Brian as well about this too of is there interest in you potentially going into boxing management, like in terms of like what that next chapter of the sport outside of the play coming up next year. Yeah, no, I think so. I think I wanna stay involved in the sport in some way. I've obviously been enjoying I for the last two weeks but And rightly so. Yeah, but I can't be doing this forever and either. I I wanna have a a different focus and when these new dreams and new ideas pop up I'm gonna give it to my heart and soul as well. But think manager fighters will be a a great way for me to stay involved in the sport and so yeah we'll see what happens. Yeah well we look forward to that chapter and Katie Taylor I want to say thank you so much for inspiring me through my entire journey. You've been truly incredible so thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much.