World Title Offer For Katelynn Phelan
Katelynn Phelan [4(1)-0] has received an offer to fight for a major world title in the coming months.
An overseas approach has been made for the Kildare fighter to go back into the away corner and seek to upset the odds yet again.
Phelan captured the imagination – and three belts – last October when she went to Germany and destroyed hotshot Jessica Schadko in five rounds. Now ‘The Smiling Assassin’ has been offered the chance to fight for a world title from one of the four major governing bodies.
Following the win over Schadko, which played out at welterweight, it was planned for Phelan to move down in weight and look to attract the attention of bigger UK or US promoters. Most importantly, a gradual build for a fighter, who is still only 20 years of age, was called for.
Irish-Boxing.com understands that this offer, while for a legitimate title, would play out well above Phelan’s eventual weight destination and under-the-radar in terms of global boxing attention.
That said, the opportunity remains enticing and Boxing Ireland Promotions boss Leonard Gunning explained how “Katelynn has probably come out of COVID in one of the most improved positions of any Irish boxer – mainly due to rolling the dice and taking a big gamble by going away to fight Jessica Schadko in her home gym. That paid off, big time, for her and now she’s jumped into the world rankings with a number of major organisations.”
“We’ve had a number of approaches from promoters and matchmakers about Katelynn, big fights and potential contracts as well. We’re exploring these and what’s in the best interests of Katelynn. However, this week, we’ve had a major offer for a major title.”
While excited, Sligo’s Gunning notes how “this wasn’t in our plans because what we had in our plans was filling in the gaps she left behind when she jumped ahead to Schadko – the six-round step, the eight-round step, building up her record, building up her resume, building up her experience.”
“But you cannot ignore when a legitimate world title offer has been landed on your lap. We’ve been discussing it with the team – Niall Barrett, Katelynn, and myself, over the last few days and we’re in further discussions with the promoter and their European agent as well with regards the finer details of the fight.”
He added that “it’s not exactly the fight that we want but there’s a lot in there that we really like about it. Negotiations are ongoing and hopefully we can bridge the gaps from their position to our position and Katelynn can become the next Irish world champion.”
