Katie Taylor is preparing for the most significant fight of her boxing career having emotionally reconciled with the person who initially guided her path: her father, Pete Taylor.
Taylor and her dad, who was her first coach, had been estranged for nine years following her discovery of his infidelity.
Pete`s marriage to Taylor`s mother, Bridgett, ended, and his relationship with his daughter also fractured. For the past decade, the former amateur light-heavyweight champion has watched his daughter`s incredible career unfold from a distance.
However, prior to Taylor`s trilogy bout in New York against Amanda Serrano, scheduled for late Saturday night and airing on Netflix, the father and daughter have finally reconciled.
The 39-year-old Taylor commented, “Being back training with him is massive for me; you cannot tell my story without including my dad.”
Her manager and close associate, Brian Peters, stated, “Just getting that relationship back takes significant effort, it takes work, but it’s wonderful to witness it. Katie uses a great term, `restoration`.”
Taylor began boxing at the age of 12, inspired by her older brothers Peter and Lee, who boxed at St. Fergal’s Boxing Club in Bray. But it was her father she most admired.
They were inseparable, traveling the world for amateur competitions and advocating for the recognition of women`s boxing in Ireland and at the Olympics. Pete was there in 2001 when his daughter made history, competing in the first officially sanctioned female boxing match in Ireland.
Taylor also championed the inclusion of female boxing in the Olympics by participating in exhibition matches for IOC officials. After successfully pioneering the sport`s landmark introduction at the 2012 London Games, she won a gold medal with her father in her corner.
But just before the Rio Games four years later, the Irish sports icon`s life was disrupted by the news of her father`s affair. As a strong favourite at the time, she suffered a surprising first-round exit in Brazil. Months later, after cutting ties with her father, she turned professional.
Taylor subsequently moved to Connecticut, over 3,000 miles from Ireland, where she is a celebrated national hero, always preferring a more private life. American coach Ross Enamait took over from Pete and guided Taylor to achieve undisputed titles in two different weight divisions.
Her remarkable professional record of 25 fights with only one loss (to Chantelle Cameron, which she later avenged) includes two hard-fought victories over Serrano.
With her dad Pete now back coaching her, he anticipates the third fight will be more conclusive than their previous two close, disputed decision wins.
He shared, “This is a happy environment for us. We are simply so comfortable working together here. Katie is my child, and I am her dad. Even though Ross has been with her for the last decade, I still understand Katie better than anyone else.”
“When you have two people interested in one person, and the discussions are always constructive, two minds are better than one,” he added.
“No matter what, she always finds a way to win. With all due respect to Amanda Serrano, I do not believe she possesses the skills to defeat Katie,” Pete stated confidently.
“Katie has the ability to constantly adapt. Obviously, Amanda will adapt as well. To be fair, you`ve seen the best of Amanda Serrano in both previous fights,” he remarked.
“I still believe you haven`t seen the peak of Katie Taylor, and I think in this fight, you are going to witness the best Katie Taylor, and it will surprise Amanda Serrano.”
Neville Whittle 
Oliver Croft