Undisputed super-lightweight world champion Katie Taylor is set to take some time away from boxing for personal reasons, with the World Boxing Council granting her the title of Champion in Recess.
Taylor retained her WBC title – along with the WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO and The Ring belts – with her win over Amanda Serrano in their trilogy fight at Madison Square Garden in July.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán confirmed the Bray fighter “let us know that she plans to take some time away from the ring to attend to personal matters”.
Following her most recent win over Serrano, the WBC said Taylor would have to defend her title against Chantelle Cameron.
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The bout would have been the pair’s third meeting, the British boxer having dealt Taylor her only professional defeat to date when they first met in May 2023 before the 2012 Olympic champion reclaimed her title six months later in a rematch in Dublin.
Sulaimán said Cameron will now instead face fellow Briton Sandy Ryan.
A statement from the WBC explained the ‘Champion in Recess’ title is a special recognition granted to boxers “who have had an outstanding career and achieved elite status in the sport”.
“It is not a regular championship title defended in the ring,” the statement added, “but rather a lifetime honour given in specific situations, such as injuries, personal issues that will keep them away from the sport for a period, moving up in weight class.
“The Champion in Recess designation allows the title to be vacated so other fighters can compete for it and keep the division active, while granting the boxer a special status and the possibility of returning to fight for the belt in the future.”
