Truth about Katie reconciliation, whether she should retire & disgraceful Croke Park fight move… Pete Taylor opens up

'I was actually shocked that it went so viral, to tell you the truth'

TAYLOR MADE Truth about Katie reconciliation, whether she should retire & disgraceful Croke Park fight move… Pete Taylor opens up

WITH every punch, every drill, and every spar with his legendary daughter, Pete Taylor felt like he had stepped back in time.

Back in January, he shared a video to Instagram of dad and daughter in the throes of training.

5 Katie Taylor retained her undisputed super lightweight titles against Amanda Serrano last weekend Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix

5 Pete Taylor helped train Katie Taylor for her fight against Serrano Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

5 He helped guide his daughter to a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games Credit: Cody Glenn / SPORTSFILE

5 They parted ways in 2016 before she turned pro Credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE

With a trilogy bout against Amanda Serrano coming six months down the line, Katie Taylor asked her dad - and former coach - to help her prep for the Madison Square Garden headliner.

Without a second thought, he leapt at the opportunity and, upon sharing the video to Instagram, declared that "words can't express what it means".

Reflecting on that initial spar, he told the Irish Sun: "Words can't explain what it was like.

"As soon as we got back in the ring again, it was like we hadn't been apart, you know?

"That's where our bond is. Where Katie grew up was in the boxing ring with myself and herself.

"We were inseparable, so to be back doing it again, it was amazing."

The relationship between the two has been the subject of conjecture and speculation since they parted ways nine years ago.

Since KT picked up a pair of boxing gloves for the first time, her dad was her coach throughout an important amateur career.

Their collaboration within the walls of St Fergal's BC in her native Bray yielded five World Championships, six European Championships, five EU titles, and a European Games gold medal.

And it peaked in 2012 when she won an Olympic gold medal in London at a Games Taylor herself had helped to manifest.

Pete Taylor opens up on training with Katie Taylor

A tumultuous 2016 saw Pete split from her mum Bridget, while Katie controversially failed to retain Olympic honours in Rio.

She turned professional later that year and, after parting ways with her dad, relocated to Connecticut to team up with current trainer Ross Enamait.

Despite talk of a reconciliation, Pete maintains that they have been close behind-the-scenes for longer than people may realise.

He explained: "We posted online that we were training together, but we were still very close. I was still over visiting her.

"This is a media thing that me and Katie got back together for the fight. It's not true.

"We've always been close, and we've been talking for the last five or six years. It was just that I didn't get involved in the training.

"We were always talking boxing. That's just natural. When I call over to her, we go to the gym together.

"She just asked me to help out in this camp, and that was it - but it wasn't that we rekindled this relationship.

"We were close all the time.

"People love these stories. I think they must have boring lives or something, because they're so interested in other people's lives.

"I don't post anything about my own personal life on Instagram. Katie's the same, and then, when we put it up, you could say it went viral.

"We've always been close. I was actually shocked that it went so viral, to tell you the truth."

"We were inseparable, so to be back doing it again, it was amazing." Pete Taylor

Katie Taylor's record since she turned pro speaks for itself: 26 fights; 25 wins; one defeat; and undisputed gold in two weight categories.

Last weekend saw her put her super lightweight belts on the line for the second time against Amanda Serrano in their third career battle.

Taylor had won both of their previous fights by decision, but left a piece of herself in the ring in concussive battles in New York and Texas.

Last Saturday called for something different, which is where her dad offered his most effective contribution.

MORE MOVEMENT

He said: "We'd been doing a little bit of training together and I'd asked her to kind of move.

"Use her legs a little bit more like she boxed when she was an amateur, and don't get into a slugfest and that's what she did.

"It made the fight easy for her."

The occasion called for collaboration between Pete and KT's current coach.

GREAT MINDS

Pete continued: "I was over there in the States and I was talking to Ross. We were just both saying she needs to start moving her legs.

"Ross was also on the same sheet as myself, saying she has to move her legs.

"Sometimes, if somebody else comes along, especially your father, who's trained you for a while, and repeats what your other coach is doing, and you're both singing off the same hymn sheet, I think it just makes sense to you.

"When we were training, we were just doing drills that we used to be doing as in the amateurs.

'WORKED OUT WELL'

"I just think it worked out well and I think Katie, coming over to Amsterdam, where I was, me going over there collaborating with Ross. I think it really worked out well."

The Wicklow Wonderwoman's throwback performance led to a majority decision victory over her career rival.

It put the pin in a historic trilogy that elevated women's boxing itself, as evidenced by it headlining an all-female card.

The show, which included a record-breaking number of title fights, drew a capacity crowd to Madison Square Garden.

5 Pete maintains that they have been close behind-the-scenes for longer than people think Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Already, thoughts have turned to what is next for the 39-year-old, who admitted that she doesn't know if she will carry on.

Inevitably, demand for her to finally fight at Croke Park has picked up once again, with the Irish government expressing willingness to help make it happen.

Chantelle Cameron appears to be the most speculated opponent, with the English fighter holding the interim WBC super lightweight belt.

ONLY PRO DEFEAT

She also handed KT her first professional loss at the 3Arena in Dublin in May 2023, a defeat Taylor avenged to become an undisputed 140lb champ that November.

Their rivalry heated up in the wake of Katie's win over Serrano after the Irishwoman infamously claimed she had earned Cameron "more money than she deserves".

Pete hit out at the GAA HQ bout not having happened already and cited September's NFL clash between the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers.

And, while he believes his daughter should hang up the gloves, he backed her to make the best decision.

TIME TO STOP

He said: "I have spoken to her every day since Saturday.

"She's done everything in the sport. I'd personally like to see her stop, you know? Finish on such a brilliant performance.

"When we were training, we were just doing drills that we used to be doing as in the amateurs." Pete Taylor

"Croke Park should have been made a long time ago and it's a shame on the people in charge of Croke Park and the Irish Government that they've never made it. It's a disgrace.

"You put American football on there and everything else on there and then you can't put an Irish sportsperson.

'DISGRACEFUL'

"I think it's actually disgraceful that it has never been made.

"I'd like to see Katie retire but Katie has the right to decide what she's gonna do and make her own mind up, no matter what.

"She's not asked my opinion. If she asked my opinion, I'd say it's entirely up to you. You owe the sport nothing.

"If you do stop, it's a great time to stop. If you do go on, well, go on, but make sure you're going to go on and give it 100 percent, and don't have one thought in retirement and one thought in going on.

"I think she's a little bit like Muhammad Ali and how he moved on with boxing. She's done the same with female boxing and female sports."

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