Katie Taylor Has the Perfect Platform to Make Waves in the Professional Ranks

There are two boxers set to make their professional bows at Wembley Arena in London on Saturday.

Per BoxRec, Danny Dignum will appear in the paid ranks for the first time. But with all due respect to the Essex fighter, his scheduled four-rounder against Jimmy White (no, not that Jimmy White) will fly under the radar.

Katie Taylor—the other newbie on the Matchroom bill—doesn’t have to worry about going unnoticed.

While the majority of debutants normally start in front of the eyes of a few, either in a small-hall venue, a hotel banqueting suite or an empty arena long before the crowd shuffles in for the main fights, the Irishwoman will step out in front of a big audience, both inside the venue and on live television.

Anthony Joshua was perhaps the last debutant to kick off their pro career in Britain under such intense scrutiny.

The IBF heavyweight champion was well-known before even throwing a punch as a pro. In striking gold at the 2012 London Olympics, Joshua shot to stardom. Many didn’t even know his name before the Games, yet in a fortnight the power of the media, including free-to-air TV, turned him into a household name.

His Olympic performances did raise expectation levels ahead of an inevitable switch to the pros, but rather than be crushed by the weight of expectation, Joshua just took the move in his stride.

Taylor, who played international football for the Republic of Ireland as a forward before choosing to focus on her boxing career, would like to follow in the Englishman's rather large footsteps.

Her first appearance in a professional ring sees her up against Karina Kopinska in a six-round contest. Promoter Eddie Hearn handled Joshua’s (ridiculously fast) rise to the top—now he hopes to do the same again with his latest star signing from the amateur ranks.

"This first year is about raising the profile, turning her into a global star," Hearn told a packed press conference in Dublin on Tuesday, per Joe O'Neill of Irish-Boxing.com.

The long-term aim is to take Taylor out on the road. According to O'Neill, Hearn talked about fighting in Scandinavia, the United States and even the possibility of appearing in the Far East.

Alex Morton/Getty Images

In the short term, however, the 30-year-old is already penciled in to appear on the undercard to Joshua's title defence against Eric Molina on December 10 in Manchester, England. Clearly, Kopinska—a Pole who's lost twice as many as she's won—isn't expected to cause too many problems.

However, Hearn's grand plan can only come to fruition if Taylor's talent quickly comes to the fore.

Joshua's reputation grew quickly thanks to a slew of rapid knockouts against opponents who performed like rabbits trapped in the headlights of an oncoming lorry.

Taylor's amateur pedigree suggests she should hold up her end of the deal. In an astonishing 11-year unbeaten stretch from 2005 onwards, she became a six-time world champion, claimed five European titles and also picked up one gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.

All good things must come to an end, though. After only a bronze at the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in May, Taylor suffered a shock exit at the quarter-final stage of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

She revealed at the recent press event, per quotes published by the Belfast Telegraph, how the disappointment of failing to defend her lightweight crown at the Games in August still lingers:

"

It was heartbreaking to lose in Rio, everyone that knows me knows how much the Olympics means to me, and I'd love to be walking out as a two-time Olympic gold medalist but it wasn't meant to be.

It hasn't altered my confidence at all. Life is all about ups and downs, mountain tops and valleys, sometimes you have to persevere through tough times. I still have a lot of confidence and belief in myself and the best is yet to come.

"

But enough about the past—it is now time to focus on the future.

The crown may have slipped in recent months, but Taylor is still the undisputed queen of Irish boxing.

Last Saturday, American Claressa Shields—a two-time Olympic gold medalist—made her pro debut ahead of the light heavyweight showdown between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward. Perhaps foolishly, her four-round bout against Franchon Crews appeared on the non-per-pay-view part of the card.

Taylor, however, will step out for her maiden pro appearance in a prime-time slot. Hearn revealed on Twitter that her bout is scheduled to start around 9:30 p.m. GMT.

It is all in stark contrast to the first women's professional boxing bout in Britain. Back on November 25, 1998, Jane Couch—already a world champion at the time—took on Simona Lukic at Caesars nightclub in Streatham Hill, London.

Just a day after the 18-year anniversary of that historic night in Caesars, Taylor begins her career in far more favourable circumstances.

Couch had to fight hard just to gain a pro boxing licence. When asked by Bleacher Report in 2015 about the possibility of women boxing on big cards in Britain, she revealed her doubts: "You cannot do it on your own. You can be the best fighter in the world, but you need someone there to promote you."

With Hearn, however, Taylor has that heavyweight backer in her corner.

According to Niamh Horan of the Irish Independent, broadcasters Sky are also committed "for three years with roughly six to eight fights per year."

While Couch battled alone to break through barriers and prove she belonged in a male-dominated industry, Taylor could have help in establishing professional women's boxing in Britain and Ireland.

Nicola Adams has been a star performer for Team GB, including winning gold medals at the last two Olympics, but her future could also be in the pros. She was recently left out of the British squad and has held talks with promoters on both sides of the Atlantic, per Press Association Sport (h/t the Guardian).

Adams has still has to officially confirm her next move, but Taylor has chosen her path. The table is set for success—now she has to serve up victories.

First impressions tend to last, so the pressure is on Taylor to dazzle on Saturday night.

Yet every female fighter (bar Kopinska, of course) should wish her the best of luck, for the Irish sporting icon stands on the verge of making a breakthrough that has ramifications far beyond just her own career.

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