Katie Taylor ( born 2 July 1986 ) is an Irish boxer and former footballer . In professional boxing she is currently the female lightweight undisputed world champion , having held the WBA title since 2017 , the IBF title since 2018 , the WBO title since March 2019 and the WBC title since June 2019 . Following her victory over Delfine Persoon , she became one of only seven boxers in history , female or male , to hold all four major world titles in boxing — WBA , WBC , IBF and WBO — simultaneously , along with Bernard Hopkins ( 2004 – 2005 ) , Jermain Taylor ( 2005 ) , Cecilia Brækhus ( 2014 – ) , Terence Crawford ( 2017 ) , Oleksandr Usyk ( 2018 – 2019 ) , and Claressa Shields ( 2019 – ) . In her successful amateur boxing career , Taylor won five consecutive gold medals at the Women 's World Championships , gold six times at the European Championships , and gold five times at the European Union Championships . Hugely popular in Ireland , she is credited with raising the profile of women 's boxing at home and abroad . Regarded as the outstanding Irish athlete of her generation , she was the flag bearer for Ireland at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony before going on to win an Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division . Taylor turned professional in 2016 under Matchroom Boxing , and is known for her fast-paced , aggressive boxing style . As of June 2019 , Taylor is ranked as the world 's best active female lightweight , and pound for pound boxer by Boxrec
2012 London Olympics opening ceremony
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Katie Taylor