Deirdre Gogarty

Deirdre Gogarty
Born (1969-11-10) 10 November 1969 (age 55)
Drogheda, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Other namesDangerous
Statistics
Weight(s)Featherweight
Height5 ft 5+1⁄2 in (166 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights23
Wins16
Wins by KO14
Losses5
Draws2

Deirdre Gogarty (born 10 November 1969) is a retired Irish female boxer and current coach of the Ragin' Cajun Boxing Club. She hails from Drogheda[1] and attended Drogheda Grammar School. Before a law was passed in Ireland preventing women from engaging in boxing events, Gogarty was able to begin her career with a six-round decision win against Anne-Marie Griffin. However, when that law was passed, Gogarty could not engage in competition in Ireland.[2][3] In consequence, she was based in Lafayette, Louisiana and was managed and trained by Beau Williford.

The law preventing females from participating in the sport of boxing in Ireland has since been revoked and there is an increasing number of females becoming involved with the sport thanks to its Olympic acceptance and the consistent international success of Katie Taylor.[4][5][6][7][8]

After leaving Ireland, Gogarty's next three fights took her to London and Kansas City, Missouri. In London, she defeated Jane Johnson twice, by a four-round knockout and by and eight-round decision. In Kansas City, she drew after six rounds with Stacy Prestage After the rematch with Johnson, she obtained her first knockout in the first round, beating Jane McGhee. Another win followed this and she was matched with Prestage again, resulting in another draw after six rounds.

Following the emerging pattern, another win followed this tie and she was matched against Prestage for a rubber match. However, this time Gogarty suffered her first loss when Prestage won a ten-round decision over her. Two more wins followed this defeat, including a six-round knockout of the top contender Carol Brown and a first-round knockout win over Missy Buchanan. In spite of this winning streak, Gogarty next lost a six-round decision when she faced Mary Ann Almager.

Gogarty followed this defeat with a win, after which she was matched with Isra Girgrah, whom Gogarty knocked out in three rounds. This is considered her biggest win to date. She then boxed another of female boxing's top competitors when she faced Laura Serrano, who beat Gogarty by a knockout in round seven. A knockout win in the first round followed this defeat, when she fought Jessica Breitfelder. Gogarty then participated in the fight many credit as putting female boxing on the sports' fan page: she and Christy Martin faced each other in a six-round match that was televised by Showtime.[9] This fight made the covers of many magazines.[10] Many fans of women's boxing considered it the female version of the Thrilla in Manila.[11] Martin won by a six-round decision.[12]

Gogarty succeeded in winning another three fights consecutively before she challenged Bonnie Canino for the Women's International Boxing Federation's Women's World Featherweight Championship.[13] Gogarty became a World Champion after winning the fight on a ten-round decision.[14] This made her the first Irishwoman to win any boxing world title; the fight occurred in the United States in 1997.[15] She defended her title against Monique Strohman and Debra Strohman. Both were defeated in first-round knockouts. In her last fight to date, Gogarty lost her title to Beverly Szymanski on a ten-round decision.[citation needed]

Gogarty co-wrote her memoir, My Call to the Ring: A Memoir of a Girl Who Yearns to Box, with Darrelyn Saloom. The book was published by Glasnevin Publishing on 8 August 2012.[16] The next day, Katie Taylor won a gold medal for Ireland in the 2012 Summer Olympics, which included women's boxing for the first time.[citation needed]

In 2015, Gogarty was inducted into the Women's International Boxing Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The IWBHF was created by founder Sue TL Fox.[17]

  1. ^ "Women's Boxing: Deirdre Gogarty Biography". Wban.org. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. ^ "'No-one will want to marry you if you're out boxing'". BBC Sport.
  3. ^ Haldane, Lizzie. "Deirdre Gogarty". ESPN. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Gogarty the trailblazer for Katie's gold rush". Independent.ie. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Documentary on the Irish woman who changed the face of boxing airs tonight". The42.ie. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Olympics - On Demand Player". Rte.ie. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Ex World Champ Deirdre to wed - in the ring!". Droghedalife.com. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Off The Ball: Before Katie Taylor, there was Deirdre Gogarty". Newstalk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Woman Dedicated To Rings - tribunedigital-sunsentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. 18 September 1996. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Deirdre Gogarty: No titillating sideshow". Thesweetscience.com. 15 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  11. ^ Sares, Ted. ""Dangerous" Deirdre Gogarty –". Theboxingtribune.com. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Woman Dedicated To Rings - tribunedigital-sunsentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. 18 September 1996. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Irish Woman Wins On Tko - tribunedigital-sunsentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. 19 September 1996. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Gogarty wins featherweight title". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Deirdre Gogarty: Meet the world champion who came before Katie Taylor". BBC Sport. 17 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Deirdre Gogarty to enter International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame". Advertiser. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  17. ^ "About the IWBHF". Wban.net. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2016.