Katie Taylor’s career was soaked in blood, tears and triumph.
The Irishwoman has stepped away from the sport aged 40 after 27 fights and 26 wins after a memorable night at Dublin’s Croke Park.
Making her amateur debut in 2001, Taylor won every medal and title she could have and more importantly had a lasting effect on women’s boxing and women as athletes.
Advertisement
BBC Sport takes a look back on some of the best pictures from her iconic career.
Taylor helped legalise women boxing in Ireland, competing in the first sanctioned female fight in 2001 aged 15 [Getty Images]
Taylor won five world championships as an amateur including in 2012 when she also won Olympic gold in London [Getty Images]
Her father Peter, who had been her long-time coach, was there to celebrate with her [Getty Images]
Taylor is one of 15 Irish athletes to win gold at an Olympics in any sport and was the only Irish gold medallist in 2012 [Getty Images]
Advertisement
She returned in 2016 but suffered a shock exit in the quarter-finals [Getty Images]
Taylor quickly moved on, convincing Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn to sign her as a professional. Taylor was the first female fighter Hearn signed [Getty Images]
She made a winning debut at Wembley Arena in November 2016, which was packed with Irish fans [Getty Images]
She took just 11 months to claim her first world title – the WBA lightweight belt [Getty Images]
Advertisement
In her bid to become Ireland’s first four-belt world champion at Madison Square Garden in 2019, she was almost beaten by Delfine Persoon [Getty Images]
The wounds of war were obvious on Taylor’s face after the battle with Persoon [Getty Images]
Taylor returned to MSG in 2022, this time to face Amanda Serrano. Years of talks finally bore fruit as the rivals finally stepped in the ring together at a sold-out MSG. It was the first time two women had headlined a boxing fight at the iconic New York venue [Getty Images]
A 10-round classic could have been very different for Taylor, had she not stayed on her feet and edged a split decision points win [Getty Images]
Advertisement
Taylor and her mother Bridget, a constant figure by her side, shared a moment backstage at MSG [Getty Images]
After nine years without a fight in Ireland, Taylor finally got her chance in front of her home fans in November 2024 [Getty Images]
A hugely emotional night turned into disaster as England’s Chantelle Cameron produced a masterclass to strip Taylor of her undefeated record [Getty Images]
But from devastation… [Getty Images]
Advertisement
…to joy six months later [Getty Images]
Taylor outpointed Cameron in rematch in Dublin to become a two-weight undisputed champion [Getty Images]
Taylor has had countless famous visitors to her dressing room down the years [Getty Images]
Taylor went back on the road to fight Serrano again in 2024, this time in front of 60,000 people in Texas and live on Netflix [Getty Images]
Advertisement
The rivals produced another classic decided on the smallest of margins as Taylor prevailed [Getty Images]
Despite beating Serrano twice, Taylor agreed to a trilogy at MSG… [Getty Images]
…and closed out the trilogy with a clean sweep [Getty Images]
Taylor was on top of the world as undisputed light-welterweight champion and looked ready to sail off into retirement… [Getty Images]
Advertisement
…but there was one itch left to scratch – Dublin’s iconic Croke Park [Getty Images]
Taylor soaked up every moment of her final fight week and made Clodagh Keating’s dreams come true when she invited the 10-year-old to join her for some boxing drills at the public workout [Getty Images]
Taylor made her final ringwalk to over 80,000 at Croke Park [Getty Images]
Bridget Taylor’s smile beamed from ear-to-ear as she added another WBC belt to the collection following Katie Taylor’s unanimous decision win over Flora Pili [Getty Images]
Advertisement
That’s all she wrote. Taylor laid her gloves down in the centre of the Croke Park ring to bring the curtain down on her illustrious career [Getty Images]
More boxing from the BBC
Read the full article here