Saturday 26 November 2016 12:03, UK
Multiple amateur champion Katie Taylor thinks she can be fast-tracked quicker than men who make their professional debuts.
Taylor will make her professional bow against Poland's Karina Kopinska at Wembley Arena on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports 2, following a stellar amateur career in which she claimed five consecutive world championships and Olympic gold at London 2012 in the 60kg weight class.
Following a disappointing exit at the quarter-final stage of this year's Olympics in Rio, Taylor made the decision to turn pro.
The 30-year-old from Bray now has her sights set on professional domination and her second bout will be on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's IBF world heavyweight title defence against Eric Molina in Manchester on December 10.
"I think I can definitely be fast-tracked a bit more than a lot of the men," said Taylor.
"I've got great amateur experience; I've got over 250 fights as an amateur so I definitely feel like I could be moved fairly quickly but I'm just going to leave that stuff up to Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, they're the ones that are organising these fights and I've just got to do my job and be prepared for whoever steps in the ring.
"I'm feeling great. I'm glad to get the weight over and done with and I'm sure all boxers are the same: we're just itching to get into that arena tomorrow night and this is something I've looked forward to for months now and I'm itching to get in there and out on a performance.
"This is a new challenge, a new goal and I definitely needed this new goal as well.
"I've got my spark back ever since I announced I was turning pro and I think that will show in my performance tomorrow night.
"I've been at the top of my amateur career for ten years and I hope to so the same in the professional ranks as well.
"I've got big dreams and big hopes to dominate in this game and this is the start of an incredible journey I hope.
"I get nervous every time I step into the ring really, that's normal, and I'm sure there will be a few nerves tomorrow night but for the time being I'm fairly relaxed, I just can't wait to get a bit of food into me and fuel up for tomorrow evening."
Katie Taylor v Karina Kopinska is part of a busy Wembley Arena bill, which also includes Ohara Davies v Andrea Scarpa, Martin J Ward v Ronnie Clark, and Ben Hall v Carson Jones, with live coverage starting at 8pm on Sky Sports 2.
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