Amy Broadhurst: Sparring with Katie Taylor inspires Louth fighter to world gold
- Published
Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O'Rourke celebrate with their gold medals in Istanbul
Amy Broadhurst says sparring with childhood hero Katie Taylor gave her the confidence to win gold for Ireland at the Women's World Championship.
The Louth fighter hailed the impact of the undisputed world lightweight champion after winning the light-welterweight title in Turkey.
"Katie told me I would be very hard to beat," said the 25-year-old.
"To hear that from the best female boxer that's ever lived helped my confidence a lot."
The former European junior and youth champion sparred with Taylor ahead of the Bray women's thrilling victory over Amanda Serrano in New York earlier this month.
Broadhurst has also sparred with world and Olympic champion Kellie Harrington while she is set to compete for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer.
Double success
It was double gold for Ireland in Istanbul with Lisa O'Rourke winning the light-middleweight division.
Taylor congratulated the pair in style with a special video while she sent Broadhurst, who plans to fight at the Olympic Games in 2024 and 2028 before turning pro, a message of praise.
Katie Taylor lands a body shot in her victory over Amanda Serrano to retain her world lightweight title
"Even being asked to be Katie Taylor's sparring partner is a compliment in itself as she could have looked all over the world and got the best of the best but she chose me," Broadhurst told Sportsound Extra Time.
"Sparring with Katie and doing well against her - I thought to myself that I do have the ability to go all the way.
"When I got out of the ring I had a lovely message from her. The woman you've looked to since being a little girl is now messaging you, telling you how great you've performed and to enjoy being world champion.
"And her coach sent me a video of the two of them dancing and singing 'Ole, Ole, Ole'. That put a big smile on my face after winning the gold medal. It's crazy and I think I'll watch that video every day.
"It hasn't sunk in yet that I'm a world champion and when I came back the whole estate was out welcoming me home. That's never happened before and it brought a few tears to my eyes."
To can hear more from Amy Broadhurst's interview on Sportsound Extra Time on Radio Ulster at 1800 BST on Monday.