Katie Taylor bitterly disappointed to miss out on Thomond date

Katie Taylor has been left bitterly disappointed, according to her father and trainer Peter, after it was confirmed the Olympic champion will not feature on the undercard of Andy Lee’s world-title defence at Thomond Park next month.

The Bray woman was in line to fight on the September 19 ‘Showdown’ card in a support bout to Lee’s clash against European champion Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO world middleweight title, but Lee’s manager and promoter Adam Booth confirmed negotiations to book a bout for Taylor had failed.

“We believe we did everything we could to make this event happen but unfortunately on this occasion, the outcome was not to be,” said Booth.

Taylor’s planned participation is understood to have been derailed to a large degree by the convoluted rules and regulations of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), which governs what once was “amateur” boxing.

AIBA’s recent move to set up their own professional tournament, AIBA Pro Boxing, brought them into competition with the traditional pro governing bodies, and it is understood Taylor’s planned show on the bill could have went against AIBA’s rules.

Had Taylor fought on the Thomond Park show, she may have also put her hopes of defending her Olympic title at the Rio 2016 Games in jeopardy.

“I think, in all fairness, they tried their best to make it go ahead. I don’t think there was any one person to blame,” said Peter Taylor.

“I wasn’t actually involved in any of the negotiations, so I think there was a big misunderstanding. She’s disappointed she’s not boxing on this [bill], it’s a bit of a blow for her so we’ll have to sit down and talk about plans.

“It’s just disappointing for us, but I hope Andy does a job and boxes well on the night. We’ll probably still go down and support him.”