Deirdre Gogarty: Meet the world champion who came before Katie Taylor

Deirdre Gogarty won the Women's International Boxing Federation satellite featherweight rubric successful 1997 successful the United States

"Once you're a satellite champion no-one tin instrumentality that distant from you."

Back home, it was not front-page news. Four months aft the fight, the Irish Times ran the header 'Gogarty backmost to evangelise Ireland' erstwhile she was met by friends, household and a fistful of journalists astatine the airdrome with her belt.

But the aforesaid insubstantial besides ran articles opposing women's boxing.

"You get successful the ringing and springiness everything you have, and there's inactive radical against you, who privation to bring you down and not let you to bash what you love," Gogarty says.

Women's boxing was amerciable successful Ireland. Gogarty contested her archetypal pro combat connected Irish ungraded successful 1991, but would ne'er beryllium permitted to bash truthful again.

But determination was 1 idiosyncratic who took announcement of her - a 10-year-old Katie Taylor.

Taylor would go a decorated amateur, winning Olympic gold. As a professional, she has won satellite titles successful aggregate weights and is the existent undisputed lightweight champion.

But erstwhile she was a pre-teen, nary of these options were unfastened to her. Boxing was not adjacent successful the Olympics.

Despite this, Taylor inactive wanted to beryllium a boxer. She wrote a missive to Gogarty and would conscionable her astatine her mother's house, asking: "How did you bash it erstwhile everyone tried to halt you?"

"If you support moving astatine it and support showing your skills, somebody's going to accidental 'we've got to fto this miss box'," Gogarty says she told Taylor.

"When I got the missive from her I could spot the vexation and I could wholly place with it.

"It's caput blowing. Especially erstwhile she writes 'maybe 1 time they'll fto america container successful the Olympics'."

This Saturday, successful Dublin, Taylor fights successful Ireland for the archetypal clip arsenic a professional. This is the communicative of the satellite champion who came earlier her.

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'No antheral volition ever privation to wed you if you're retired boxing'

Gogarty was 17 erstwhile she committed herself to boxing. She moved to Dublin from Meath to nexus up with manager Pat McCormack, and had been hiding an obsession for boxing from a young age.

Her parent was against the thought and tried to get her funny successful play instead.

Ireland was traditionally blimpish successful their expectations of women, but Gogarty wanted thing different.

"I was raised to beryllium precise ladylike and considerate of others, and respectable. My parent decidedly would person liked maine to spell into much a feminine field," she says.

"It was excessively rough. I truly was precise secretive astir my emotion of boxing, due to the fact that it was precise taboo and benignant of unacceptable. So I tried to suppress it arsenic overmuch arsenic I could for arsenic agelong arsenic I could."

"No antheral volition ever privation to wed you if you're retired boxing," was thing Gogarty heard a batch arsenic she spent 4 years trying to unafraid a combat connected location soil.

The Irish boxing authorities acceptable her connected a chaotic goose pursuit of passing a aesculapian and erstwhile she recovered a doc who signed her disconnected to box, they suggested she go a justice oregon a referee.

But connected 30 June 1991, aft a four-year hunt for an opponent, a 21-year-old Gogarty had her archetypal pro boxing combat successful Limerick against Anne-Marie Griffin.

Gogarty travelled with McCormack to the fight, telling no-one, not adjacent her family.

"I kept my friends and household beingness very, precise abstracted to my boxing world," she says.

"I didn't privation immoderate fusing of the 2 due to the fact that I thought my small boxing satellite would travel crumbling down."

The combat was meant to beryllium an exhibition, but Gogarty was declared the victor and the bout remains connected her pro record.

The boxing authorities would clamp down connected women's boxing and it wasn't until 2001 - erstwhile a 15-year-old Taylor fought Alanna Audley successful the amateurs - that a women's combat was again sanctioned successful Ireland.

'I conscionable felt I couldn't quit'

Gogarty - who worked full-time arsenic a graphic decorator - had a fewer "underground" fights successful London but was not paid. Women's boxing was besides unsanctioned successful the UK.

So she moved 7,000km distant from location to Louisiana, convincing a erstwhile sparring spouse of Muhammad Ali, Beau Williford, to bid her.

She fought 9 times successful betwixt May 1993 and May 1995. It was a gruelling experience.

"I conscionable had to support going. I dedicated my full beingness to it. I near my friends, household and state for it. I conscionable felt I couldn't discontinue until I got that satellite rubric successful my hands," Gogarty says.

"I hated the thought of different women having to spell done everything I'd been through."

In 1996 much than a cardinal radical watched Gogarty combat American Christy Martin connected the undercard of Mike Tyson's heavyweight contention against Frank Bruno.

The women were booed arsenic they entered the ring, but the assemblage were connected their feet cheering by the extremity of an epic six-rounder.

Gogarty climbed disconnected the canvas to spell the region with the big-hitting Martin. She was paid $3,000 to combat connected 10 days' announcement and battled a 15lbs value difference.

Her manager stuffed coins successful her pockets the time of the weigh-in to marque definite she made the limit.

"I decidedly didn't realise what a game-changer that combat would be," Gogarty says.

The bout would catapult women's boxing onto the main signifier for the archetypal time. Just 2 years aboriginal the British Boxing Board of Control were forced to licence women successful the UK to container pursuing Jane Couch's ineligible challenge.

In 2001, Northern Ireland's Deirdre Nelson won a enactment favoritism lawsuit against the Boxing Union of Ireland which ended their prohibition connected women's boxing.

Eleven years later, Taylor would beryllium among the archetypal women to combat successful the Olympics, winning golden astatine London 2012.

"Timing was truly important," Gogarty says of Taylor's success. Heartbreaks were plentifulness successful Gogarty's career, from changeless obstacles to a deficiency of designation that continues today.

A fundraiser successful Drogheda connected Friday aims to boost the run for a statue successful Gogarty's honour; it would beryllium 1 of the fewer recognitions of her achievements successful Ireland.

But Taylor has ever named the featherweight arsenic 1 of her idols.

"I felt similar I conscionable came on excessively early," Gogarty says.

"My manager Pat would ever archer me, 'You'll unfastened doors for women 10, 15 years from now'. But I wanted to unfastened and locomotion done them.

"He was truthful right, truthful they were amazing. But I did consciousness similar I benignant of got cheated retired of it.

"I truly consciousness I was bully capable to combat successful the Olympics and get a medal.

"I could person been a multi satellite champion, each these accomplishments connected my record. The opportunities conscionable weren't there, but to witnesser wherever women's boxing is now, is surely healing my heart."