Bernard Dunne: Katie Taylor must get coaching decision right
Reports yesterday strongly suggested the multiple World and European champion was on the brink of crossing the Rubicon from the amateur game with promoter Eddie Hearn informing RTÉ that negotiations have been held between his Matchroom team and the Bray boxer.
Talk of a first pro fight on the same card as the Tommy Coyne-John Wayne Hibbert bout at Wembley on the night of Saturday, November 26, has also been mooted. That show is to be screened live by Sky Sports. And Zaur Antia, interim head coach with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association’s (IABA) high performance unit, has confirmed Taylor will not be part of the squad travelling to Bulgaria for next month’s European Women’s Championship.
Taylor’s father Pete, her long-term coach, has not been in her corner this year and she has lost three times in 2016 and relinquished her World and Olympic titles in the process. Like Taylor, Dunne turned pro after representing Ireland in the amateur game but he was 21 when he made the move and it was almost eight years before he claimed the WBA Super Bantamweight title with his defeat of the Panamian holder Ricardo Cordoba in Dublin.
Adapting to the demands of the pro game with its greater number of rounds and different emphases on training, power, approach and physique means it won’t be straightforward for the Irishwoman, even if she will be expected to make a considerable impact.
“That’s why its very important she makes the right decision on who coaches her because that is who she is going to spend most time with going forward,” said Dunne on RTÉ’s 2FM.
“That person is going to help her develop and hopefully mature into a world champion. Is that person in this country? I’m not so sure.
“Katie is still a very fresh fighter and it hasn’t been a very taxing career. Okay, the last 12 months have been tough but they have been tough mentally rather than physically so even at 30 years of age there is still a lot more in her.
“Her best days are not past her just yet.”
Eric Donovan, one of the latest Irish amateur fighters to go pro when he made the switch only this summer, agreed with Dunne when pointing out that another four-year cycle up to Tokyo 2020 was probably not the way for Taylor to go.
The Athy man is one of the many men to have trained and sparred with Taylor in the past and knows more than most what she is capable of, but he said it could take up to two or three years for Taylor to claim a belt.
“There is still a lot to learn about the pro game. It is more aggressive. The fans are more aggressive.
“They want to see big punches, they want to see blood. Lets face it, its an entertainment business more so than a skilful business so she will have to get a coach to help her evolve into that kind of fighter.”
