Pete Taylor is a boxing coach, former boxer and father and former trainer of

Katie Taylor Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBA title since 2017; the IBF title since 2018; and the ...

Early life

Taylor is originally from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but he moved with his parents to

Bray, County Wicklow Bray ( ) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census). Bray is ...

to work in the amusement arcades in the town. He met Bridget Cranley in the town, they married and had four children: Lee, Sarah, Peter and Katie. Peter is a lecturer in mathematics.

Boxing career

In 1986 he was a champion light heavyweight boxer in Ireland.

Training

He begain training Katie as a boxer in St Fergal's Boxing Club in Bray and was in her corner when she won gold at the 2012 Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He ceased training her before the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

, citing "personal reasons". He also ran a cafe in Bray called "KO Fit Food".

Boxing club

Pete founded a boxing club in Bray. The club was given €300,000 state funds in Katies' honour. In 2017 he trained Seán Turner, David Oliver Joyce and Gary Cully, all signed to

MTK Global MTK Global (Mack The Knife Global) was a boxing and mixed martial arts management and event promotions company founded by Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan and former professional boxer Matthew 'Mack the Knife' Macklin. Originally established in 201 ...

. He has said that the boxers approached him individually and he has no connections to MTK himself.

Bray boxing club shooting

On 5 June 2018 Pete Taylor survived being shot at his boxing club in Bray. Two other men were shot, one fatally. Katie Taylor issued a statement issuing condolences to the family of Bobby Messet and relief that her father had survived. She mentioned that she was estranged from her father and nothing to do with the club since 2015. She also criticised the media for the use of her name and image in stories relating to the shooting and asked the media to leave her and her family alone. In an interview in July 2018 he said he was 'jobless' and 'homeless'. His former landlord had said that neighbours were fearful after the shooting and he and his partner moved out. He was given a GIM form to let him know his life was in danger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Pete Irish male boxers Sportspeople from Leeds People from Bray, County Wicklow