Teen boxing prodigy Tiah Ayton, often compared to Irish boxing legend Katie Taylor, initially found her attempts to contact prominent promoter Eddie Hearn met with silence.
Despite being only 18 years old, Ayton boasts an exceptional amateur record, winning all her bouts and securing four national championships. Her impressive background includes a 21-0 record in amateur boxing, complemented by over 300 fights in kickboxing and Muay Thai. Driven to succeed in professional boxing and follow in Taylor`s footsteps, she even declined a contract with Team GB.
Ayton shared how she personally reached out to Hearn, but without immediate success. “I messaged him saying like, `Hopefully one day you can sign me.` But he never messaged me back!” she recalled with a laugh, adding, “So hopefully he can message me back now.”
However, the turning point came unexpectedly. Earlier this year, Ayton was invited to spar with former WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson. Present at trainer Eddie Lam`s iBox Gym in Bromley was none other than Eddie Hearn.
Hearn was profoundly impressed by Ayton`s performance during the sparring session and wasted no time, offering her a professional contract on the spot. Ayton understood the significance of the opportunity. “I had to put my everything into it, like, it wasn`t a normal spar,” she explained. “I looked at it as like it was a fight. And it all paid off.” She added that Hearn praised her performance, describing her as “great,” “looked good,” and “interesting to watch.”
Further strengthening the connection to Katie Taylor, Ayton is now managed by Brian Peters, the same manager who guided Taylor to undisputed titles in two weight classes. Ayton has even received valuable advice from the Irish icon herself.
“I spoke to her on the phone and stuff,” Ayton revealed about her conversation with Taylor. “She was saying she`s excited to watch my debut… she`s seen footage of me. So it`s exciting. She`s very inspirational for young women to look up to and want to go into boxing.”
Tiah Ayton is scheduled to make her professional debut at super-bantamweight on June 21 in Birmingham, fighting on the undercard of Galal Yafai.