When Katie Taylor leaves the ring on Saturday night, she will have a claim to being the greatest women's boxer in history.
GOAT debates in combat sports are often fruitless — beyond having to compare fighters from different weight classes, different levels of competition and different millennia, we're reliably confused by both recency bias and the glow of nostalgia. We find it hard to ignore charisma and correct for its absence. We're biased, hopelessly so, and there are far too many pitfalls on the landscape. So it is refreshing then, although incredibly rare, for a fighter in the debate to transcend the question altogether.
Is Katie Taylor the greatest?
Maybe. Her staggering amateur career, culminating in Olympic gold in 2012, preceded a professional run that saw her become undisputed champion at two weight classes and dominate the lightweight division for years. She fought the best fighters of her generation, avenged her only loss, and of all her peers in the GOAT debate, she boasts the greatest singular win, defeating Amanda Serrano in an all-time classic firefight at Madison Square Garden in 2022. She went on to defeat Serrano twice more.
Others also have a claim. You might prefer earlier pioneers like Ann Wolfe or Laila Ali, or current multi-weight queen Claressa Shields. There are arguments for all.
#katie
GOAT debates in combat sports are often fruitless — beyond having to compare fighters from different weight classes, different levels of competition and different millennia, we're reliably confused by both recency bias and the glow of nostalgia. We find it hard to ignore charisma and correct for its absence. We're biased, hopelessly so, and there are far too many pitfalls on the landscape. So it is refreshing then, although incredibly rare, for a fighter in the debate to transcend the question altogether.
Is Katie Taylor the greatest?
Maybe. Her staggering amateur career, culminating in Olympic gold in 2012, preceded a professional run that saw her become undisputed champion at two weight classes and dominate the lightweight division for years. She fought the best fighters of her generation, avenged her only loss, and of all her peers in the GOAT debate, she boasts the greatest singular win, defeating Amanda Serrano in an all-time classic firefight at Madison Square Garden in 2022. She went on to defeat Serrano twice more.
Others also have a claim. You might prefer earlier pioneers like Ann Wolfe or Laila Ali, or current multi-weight queen Claressa Shields. There are arguments for all.
#katie
11 hours ago
