'Bruised but not beaten!': Tributes pour in after Katie Taylor's two-weight championship win
It's been clear for a long time now that the iconic Katie Taylor holds a special place in the heart of the general Irish public, and her latest achievement - becoming a two-weight world champion in Manchester last night - saw another outpouring of love for the sporting star.
Taylor became the third Irish boxer to hold belts in two weight divisions after her points victory over Christina Linardatou in the WBO super lightweight title fight, following in the footsteps of Steve Collins and Carl Frampton before her.
The Bray boxer thanked supporters after the fight and her many supporters on these shores have responded in kind.
Here is Katie's post-fight interview:
.@KatieTaylor - History maker, barrier breaker 👑👑
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) November 2, 2019
🇮🇪 KT has now won 5 world titles across 2 weight divisions 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/nnP0Td7ztX
Twitter was lighting up throughout the night with praise for Ireland's latest sporting hero, with other sporting stars like Irish international footballer Katie McCabe and former international Kevin Kilbane among those to pay tribute to Taylor.
What a fight from @KatieTaylor tonight! 15-0 .. Collecting belts for fun & doing Ireland proud .. CHAMP CHAMP💪🏽🍀
— Katie McCabe (@Katie_McCabe11) November 2, 2019
Brilliant @KatieTaylor does it again. Great bit of stuff! #twoweightworldchampion 🇮🇪
— Kevin Kilbane (@kdkilbane77) November 2, 2019
Fellow boxer Carl Frampton hailed Taylor as a role model, saying "a better role model would be hard to find".
Congratulations to an Irish hero in becoming a two weight world champion. A better role model would be hard to find pic.twitter.com/OSeYEQVfRp
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) November 2, 2019
Legendary footballer Cora Staunton described Taylor as an "inspiration".
What an inspiration this lady is congrats @KatieTaylor another brillant performance #2timeworldchampion #legend
— Cora Staunton (@duckie15) November 2, 2019
Sporsfile were on hand in Manchester to capture the historic achievement:
Bruised but not Beaten!
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) November 2, 2019
Katie Taylor has defeated Christina #Linardatou in tonight's WBO Women's Super-Lightweight World title fight at the Manchester Arena!
📸 @sportsfilesteve https://t.co/cVH4I4wi2x#Katie #KatieTaylor #TaylorLinardatou #Boxing pic.twitter.com/Acd6hTicyI
In a case of game recognising game, fellow Irish sporting hero Paul McGrath was also full of support for Taylor.
Congrats Katie Taylor, ☘️🇮🇪👍. #Respect.
— Paul McGrath (@Paulmcgrath5) November 2, 2019
From her hometown of Bray, it was clear that the Wicklow town's favourite daughter didn't lack for support:
🥊🏅 Never in doubt!!
— Bray Wanderers FC (@BrayWanderers) November 2, 2019
Congratulations @KatieTaylor on yer another incredible achievement, doing Bray and Ireland proud once more!
TWO-WEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION! 🌍🇮🇪#BWFC #TaylorLinardatou pic.twitter.com/pNxkKOxxkh
The demeanour and behaviour of Taylor throughout her career also drew plenty of praise - and some comparisons to other sports stars.
We can only hope that Taylor's next fight takes place on these shores!
