Mega money Katie Taylor has no contract with Eddie Hearn or Brian Peters

Katie Taylor [8(4)-0] has quickly established herself as the biggest name in female boxing. Indeed in just over a year the Irish sensation has become one of Matchroom’s premier stars.

Having won a World title in ultra quick fashion, the star of the London Olympics was deemed big enough by Sky Sports to top a TV card.

Even more impressively, the Bray native looks set to breath fresh life into the Dublin fight scene by bringing the Sky Sports cameras and big time boxing back to the 3Arena next Spring.

Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn, manager Brian Peters and Sky can only be delighted to have signed such a marketable and unique boxing talent.

Well, that is if they had her signed.

After Taylor successfully defended her World title against a game Jessica McCaskill in York Hall last week manager Brian Peters revealed that the fighter is working with him and Matchroom on an honourable handshake basis.

“Look, she got a lot of money tonight,” Peters told Irish media afterwards. “Katie got paid a lot of money for tonight. She was main event on Sky!”

“We’re well past five figures. Yeah, a six-figure sum. And in fairness, we have no contract with Eddie. I have no contract with Katie,” he continued, revealing Taylor had pocketed north of €100,000 for the win.

Asked how the seemingly smooth link up works, the man who helped orchestrate the rise of Bernard Dunne responded – “Handshake. So there’s something.”

In normal circumstances that’s a scenario that should be giving both Peters and Hearn sleepless nights. Taylor’s ability, popularity, marketability and her tendency to redefine and break barriers makes her the ultimate promotional catch. Promoters and managers around the World would break the bank to add her name to their books.

However, in the case of Taylor it would seem that, while she is legally a free agent, morally she would stay true to the people who have done nothing but good for her pro ambitions.

You can be sure if Peters didn’t feel comfortable with the arrangement he wouldn’t be on record revealing Taylor was free to sign with whomever she wished. Still it seems a strange thing to make public, but the experienced boxing manager and businessman explains it’s an arrangement that has benefited the fighter, and indeed himself, financially.

Hearn had a contract on the table and one all parties were happy to sign. However, Peters seems to have pushed for a fight by fight deal and it proved a lot more lucrative for one of Ireland’s greatest ever sports stars.

“We were in the office. The figures that were talked about, Katie was happy to sign for, and Eddie was happy to sign. But we got more tonight than we would have got in the first year of that particular deal,” Peters outlined.

“I said, ‘Listen, it’s going to work,’ I knew it was going to work. That’s what the manager is for, isn’t it? Eddie didn’t really know, so it wasn’t as if he was trying to [low-ball]. Not at all. It was good money! And guaranteed fights.”

“But we have exceeded that money and we have exceeded the [number] of guaranteed fights.”

“Matchroom are great, Eddie’s great, Barney Francis – head of Sky Sports – was here tonight. He’s a big noise.”

“A handshake is enough. It’s enough to last a career.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)