THE ODD COUPLE

How can Taylor possibly view the Notorious as a good role model?

- BY KIERAN CUNNINGHAM

SMOKE signals are loudmouthed compared to Katie Taylor. She reigns supreme in a sport that craves braggarts, that adores boasting.

She says little and leans on the same key messages.

Two words she leans on particularly heavily are role model. Sift through her back pages and it's rare that the words don't crop up at some point.

This interview with Sky from 2019 gives a flavour. “A big part of being a professional athlete is being a role model. It’s a great responsibility and something I take very seriously. I love being a role model for young kids and just being an inspiration to them.

“There are a lot of bad role models out there and they seem to get a lot of media attention.”

Now, to many, Conor McGregor is the textbook example of a bad role model.

That was confirmed by the verdict of the civil case taken against him by Nikita Hand, and the subsequent appeal.

A few months before that trial, McGregor narrowly avoided a spell in prison for dangerous driving.

Judge David McHugh described McGregor’s dangerous driving as “persistent, prolonged and deliberate” at Blanchardstown District Court.

McGregor had over 20 previous convictions, mostly for road traffic offences.