In the early 1990s I was working for The Big Issue magazine, a social enterprise that helped people affected by poverty and homelessness to earn a steady income by selling the publication on the street. The motto was “A hand up, not a hand out”.
I was sent to Bray, Co Wicklow to photograph a young girl who was obsessed with boxing. On arriving into the Bray boxing club, I met Pete Taylor who introduced me to his daughter, 10-year-old Katie.
She did a bit of sparring with Pete, fiercely smacking his hand pads, but it was when she started sparring with a boy that her eyes lit up. She hunted him down, he was always on the back foot as young Katie relentlessly chased him around, landing punches.
As the sun was setting we did some shots outside in the lovely golden light. You can see that determination and steel in her eyes even then that would make her an Olympic gold medallist and world champion.
Katie Taylor training with her father Pete in Bray when she was 10. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan 
Katie Taylor training with her father Pete in Bray when she was 10. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan 
Katie Taylor training with her father Pete when she was 10. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan 
Katie Taylor training with her father Pete when she was 10. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan 
Katie Taylor training with her father Pete when she was 10. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan 
‘She hunted him down’: Katie Taylor sparring in Bray when she was 10. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan 
Katie Taylor sparring in Bray in the early 1990s. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan 
Katie Taylor and her father and boxing coach Pete Taylor. Photograph: Marc O’Sullivan