Katie Taylor to remain amateur and compete at Rio 2016

Irish Olympic boxing champion Katie Taylor will defend her title at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after deciding to remain as an amateur.

The four-times world champion has revealed that she rejected lucrative professional offers in a bid to add to the gold medal she won in London.

Taylor sealed Ireland's first untainted gold medal in 20 years in August.

She became one of the faces of the 2012 Games by playing a leading role in a successful debut for women's boxing.

The 26-year-old former international football player said in August that she felt she could keep fighting for 10 more years but had she turned professional, she would not have been eligible to box in Olympic competition again.

"The thing with professional boxing is you have to have the right promoter and the right fights," the Olympic lightweight champion told Irish radio station Today FM.

"It is a cut-throat business and you're not guaranteed to get the best fights.

"Just boxing for my country and bringing back medals, there's really nothing better. I'm going to stay amateur and defend my title in Rio in four years' time," she added.