Back in the frame to retain another title

IRISH TIMES/IRISH SPORTS COUNCIL SPORTSWOMEN AWARD FOR NOVEMBER KATIE TAYLOR (Boxing):After winning world gold for a second time, the boxer may well walk away with the overall title again, writes Mary Hannigan

THE JUDGES' deliberations for our November Sportswoman of the Month award lasted as long as it takes three people to say "Katie Taylor". That simple. So, 11 months on from when she was named our 2007 Sportswoman of the Year, Taylor is in contention again after retaining her world title in China last month.

Her only serious test in the World Championships came as a result of the officiating in her contest against Czech fighter Danusa Dilhafova, which Taylor won 4-3. The Irish delegation later lodged an official complaint about the performance of Ukrainian referee Eduard Hodes.

He warded Dilhafova two points after giving Taylor a public warning for holding in the second round, and a third point was then registered to the Czech when it should have been awarded to the Irish woman after she landed a right hook.

"I nearly had a heart attack when I heard 3-3," she said of the shout from her father, Peter, in the corner. But she kept her cool, despite the circumstances, to produce the winning punch.

Taylor marched on; Hodes, whose performance was described as "embarrassing" by the technical delegate, did not referee another contest.

Her other contests, though, were considerably less stressful. She beat Australian Anna Carruthers 20-3, stopped Celeste Peralta of Argentina in the first round, cruised past Russia's Azzynat Gadzhieva in the semi-finals (20-2), before beating local favourite Cheng Dong 13-2 in the final. Unsurprisingly, she was named the boxer of the tournament.

Irish Olympic coach Billy Walsh, who was at Dublin airport to welcome Taylor home, paid tribute to the world champion. "She's ahead of the posse at the moment. She's a phenomenal talent. Just a very natural, gifted girl," he said.

"A powerful girl and very dedicated. Never takes anybody for granted. She has beaten a lot of these girls before. Every time she goes to meet them it is a fresh page.

"Mentally, she is really strong. An exceptional talent. She trains with our senior male team, the team that went to the European championships. She sparred with those guys and gave them as good as she got," he said.

"Please God, three weights will be allowed into the Olympic Games so she can show she is pound-for-pound the best boxer in the world."

At just 22, then, the Bray woman already has two world and three European titles to her name.

Her dream, of course, is to complete the collection with an Olympic medal, and the wait for word on whether women's boxing will be added to the programme of sports in the London 2012 Games is agonising for Taylor.

Ching-Kuo Wu, president of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), has suggested it is "99.9 per cent" certain that the International Olympic Committee will decide in favour of including women's boxing, but Taylor won't take anything for granted.

She travels to Moscow this week to collect her AIBA female boxer of the year award, and her father is hopeful an announcement will be made there about London 2012. But they might have to wait as long as next September when the IOC Congress meets in Copenhagen.

It's out of Taylor's hands, though, she's done as much as she could possibly do for her sport and to prove that it is now worthy of inclusion in the Olympic Games.

For now, having reached her goal for 2008, she's just enjoying the freedom to indulge in other passions - like "getting a big McDonalds and eating chocolate - I don't have to watch my weight anymore!"

And the football boots will be back on soon possible as the Ireland international, with over 40 caps, looks forward to meeting up with her team-mates again.

A great sporting year, then, for Taylor, although an early announcement about 2012 would make it just about perfect.

Monthly awards so far

January -Kelly Proper (Athletics): The Waterford teenager, the 2007 Junior Athlete of the Year, broke the Irish indoor record for the long jump over successive meetings in Nenagh, Belfast and Cardiff.

February -Chloe Magee (Badminton): The 20-year-old from Donegal began the year with a hat-trick of titles at the National Championships and went on to qualify for the singles in Beijing.

March -Nina Carberry (Horse racing): The jockey had another memorable visit to Cheltenham, winning the Cross Country Chase for the second successive year, and picked up a couple of wins at Fairyhouse later in the month.

April -Siobhán Byrne (Fencing): The German-born 23-year-old, whose father is from Meath, became the first female Irish fencer to compete in the Olympics in almost 50 years after earning a slot for Beijing by reaching the final of the European qualifying tournament in Istanbul.

May- Leona and Lisa Maguire (Golf): The 13-year-old twins from Co Cavan made it an all-Maguire affair in the final of the Irish Close at Westport, as Leona became the youngest winner of the tournament, and Lisa went in as the leading qualifier, winning the Leitrim Cup.

June- Emma Davis (Triathlon): Became the first Irish athlete to qualify for the Olympic triathlon when she finished 15th in a field of 79 at the World Championships in Vancouver.

July - Sinéad Jennings (Rowing): The Donegal woman won silver at the World Championships in Austria, missing out on gold by just .55 seconds.

August- Olive Loughnane (Athletics): Knocked 93 seconds off her personal best to finish seventh in the 20km walk at the Olympic Games, Ireland's best result in track and field.

September- Briege Corkery (Camogie) and Angela Walsh (Gaelic Football): The Cork women shared the September award, Corkery for her displays in both the camogie and football All-Ireland finals and Walsh, outstanding at full back, for captaining the footballers to a four-in-a-row.

October- Madeline Perry (Squash): Reached the semi-finals of the World Championships, led Ireland to a fifth-place finish at the World Team Championships (their best in 18 years) and regained her top-10 place in the world rankings - all only a year after sustaining serious head injuries in a mugging.

Each sportswoman is eligible for just one monthly award in 2008, but her achievements throughout the year will be taken into account by the judges when the decision on the overall winner is made.