THE UNDISPUTED

IN 2017, on a raucous night at York Hall in Bethnal Green, Jessica McCaskill challenged Katie Taylor for the lightweight world title. The Irishwoman was the star of the London Olympics, unbeaten as a professional and making her first defence of the WBA crown. Little was expected of her American challenger. McCaskill had had a far more modest amateur career. She’d lost her second pro fight to a debutante. On paper it looked like a routine outing for Taylor, even if in the ring McCaskill proved a shade more stubborn, a touch tougher than anticipated. But she did not appear to be a boxer who would over the course of the following three years win a world title in the division above and unify in that weight class before moving up again to become the world’s undisputed welterweight champion.

“I learned that I do belong at that level; the reassurance of confidence, being really confident in my team,” McCaskill said of her London experience. “[It] lets you know that your