Katie Taylor now facing her toughest fight of all

After a five-year unbeaten run, Katie Taylor tasted defeat for the eighth time yesterday afternoon. And so, the inevitable inquest will begin.

The Irish public had become so used to the Olympic champion winning, that a common reaction to her victorious run was a blasé shrug of the shoulders. In stark contrast, her defeat yesterday was greeted with bemusement.

In a sport ignored by many in between Olympic Games, a ‘won’t-somebody-think-of the-children’ hysteria often accompanies surprises such as this, much like what transpired during the Billy Walsh saga. While the result was surprising, it may not have been as shocking as many claim.