Sir, – At last, in recent days, Katie Taylor is getting some of the media attention that she deserves. All she had to do was to win five European and four world championships, as well as qualifying for the Olympics by the age of 25.
I was puzzled to read Ronan McGreevy’s description of her as “elfin-like” (“Amazing welcome for boxing queen”, May 21st). What was he expecting? Mike Tyson without the Y chromosome?
At 5ft 7in, Katie Taylor is taller than the average Irish woman by several inches. She is no shorter than Bernard Dunne, Paddy Barnes and John-Joe Nevin and she boxes in a higher weight class.
I imagine her opponents felt nothing delicate or “elfin-like” in her punches. Can’t we just celebrate the strength, power and athleticism of sports women without the implied amazement that they still manage to look feminine? – Yours, etc,