Katie's off the jab

Champ steps away from boxing for 'personal matters'

- BY ROBERT HYNES and AINE KENNY

KATIE Taylor has surprised the boxing world by announcing she is stepping away from the ring.

The Bray native told the World Boxing Council she plans to take some time away from the sport to "attend to personal matters".

This comes after she opted to vacate her World Boxing Council (WBC) world super-lightweight title.

Katie also got married recently, and her husband spoke about her for the first time just a few days ago.

The WBC have named Katie as their Emeritus Champion, meaning she will be recognised as "Champion in Recess".

The 39-year-old had until yesterday to either vacate her WBC super-lightweight title or agree terms to fight Chantelle Cameron for a third time. Katie had already been given a three-week extension in relation to this matter.

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