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Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor is set to step away from the ring for a period of time, with the World Boxing Council confirming she will hold the honorary position of Champion in Recess.
The Bray native, 39, informed the sanctioning body that she intends to take time out to deal with personal matters. The move means she will vacate her WBC super lightweight belt while still retaining a unique status that guarantees her a direct route back to championship contention should she decide to return.
Explaining the decision, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said:“ Katie let us know she plans to take some time away from the ring to attend to personal matters. The fight she was contracted to take was against Chantelle Cameron. By naming her Champion in Recess, we will now order Sandy Ryan to face Cameron to determine the official WBC super lightweight champion.”
Taylor still holds a glittering collection of world titles—WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO, and The Ring Magazine belts—all retained following her trilogy victory over Amanda Serrano in New York last summer. It remains to be seen what those sanctioning bodies decide to do with their belts and wheter or not they will make them vacant.
The WBC’s decision to make the Olympic medal winner a Champion in Recess, means Taylor’s managerial stablemate, Sandy Ryan, has been handed a world title shot, with the governing body ordering a world title between her and former Taylor rival Chantelle Cameron.
Taylor’s long-term future remains unclear. Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn admitted earlier this year that he wasn’t certain if she would fight again, though he has repeatedly expressed hope of fulfilling her dream of headlining at Croke Park.
