Katie Taylor Defeats Argentine Karen Carabajal

Katie Taylor lit up Wembley Arena in green and gold as she successfully defended her four lightweight world titles against tough Argentine Karen Carabajal. 

It was only six years prior that Katie stood on the same Wembley platform, ready to emerge for the first time as a professional. Back then she stood as a figure of promise for a female scene that was scatter bombed with talent both under-appreciated and under-used. 

Now, she spearheads a movement that has redefined the sport as we know it.

For Katie, nights like Saturday are essentially viewed as a formality - a 1/40 favourite, you’d likely see a flying pig before there was a realistic chance of Katie suffering her maiden defeat. 

Yet she still manages to bring a combination of class and entertainment, if only just to remind us of what a phenomenon she really is.

From rounds 1-10, she utilised her extensive weaponry to defeat Carabajal in every aspect of the fight. When she came, Katie countered. When she moved, Katie pressed. When she stood, Katie threw with her. 

There was even a brief period where Carabajal looked as if she would be the first victim in nine fights to get stopped by Katie. 

A cut underneath the right eye drew Katie forward, but once seven or eight rounds were banked, Katie fought a risk-free remainder of the bout to ensure she kept hold of her marbles.

Now, she sits on the verge of her ‘icing on the cake’ as Dublin’s Croke Park looms for summer 2023. Never having boxed in her home nation as a professional, it would be a venue and occasion fitting of the culmination of an iconic sporting journey. 

Of course, Katie’s big occasion would still need a worthy villain, and who better to step into that role than Amanda Serrano.

If not the Puerto Rican, then there are many more options that would appease fans who, in recent years, have become accustomed to the biggest and best fights being signed and delivered in a thriving women’s landscape. 

Whatever it is, know that Katie Taylor will continue to sit on a throne made of the hopes and dreams of the many she has inspired. Sometimes a figure is bigger than their sporting achievements, and Katie is the perfect example. 

In the chief-support, Kiko Martinez proved he has a tank that still runs smoothly as he dropped and stopped Jordan Gill in four to become a five-time European champion.

No seriously, five-time…

In fact, like Katie, Kiko had seen these Wembley walls before. His February 2021 loss to Zelfa Barrett is one that he still insists pushed him closer than ever to boxing’s retirement pile.

However, since then he has both won and lost his second world title in two dramatic fights with Kid Galahad and Josh Warrington. But this isn’t the case of a man who doesn’t know how to stop, this is a case of a man who boxing cannot stop. 

You would think 11 career defeats have provided enough opportunity to wave goodbye, yet each time those setbacks have done nothing but fuel another path to success. 

This one was no less dramatic than the rest. 

In a chaotic 11 minutes, Gill was dropped a total of four times before the towel finally sealed his fate. He was stalked, caught and bloodied by a veteran whose know-how and intellect counter-acted what for two rounds looked a very sharp and wiry Gill. 

This was Kiko’s third win. on our shores and in a featherweight division littered with British ability, do not be surprised if boxing’s Benjamin Button is back for something big. 

What a man.