Deirdre Gogarty

Deirdre Gogarty (born 10 November 1969) is an Irish former female boxer who is coach of the Ragin' Cajun Boxing Club. She hails from Drogheda<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In consequence, she was based in Lafayette, Louisiana and was managed and trained by Beau Williford.Template:Citation needed

The law preventing females from participating in the sport of boxing in Ireland has since been revoked and there is an increasing number of females becoming involved with the sport thanks to its Olympic acceptance and the consistent international success of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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.Template:Citation needed

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.Template:Citation needed

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.<ref name="sun-sentinel1996">Template:Cite web</ref> This fight made the covers of many magazines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many fans of women's boxing considered it the female version of the Thrilla in Manila.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martin won by a six-round decision.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gogarty became a World Champion after winning the fight on a ten-round decision.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This made her the first Irishwoman to win any boxing world title; the fight occurred in the United States in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She defended her title against Monique Strohman and Debra Strohman. Both were defeated in first-round knockouts. In her last fight, Gogarty lost her title to Beverly Szymanski on a 10-round decision.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.Template:Citation needed

In 2015, Gogarty was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The IWBHF was created by founder Sue TL Fox.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
23	Template:No2Loss	16-2-5	Template:Flagicon Beverly Szymanski	UD		1 October 1998	Template:Flagicon Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA	vacant International Women's Boxing Federation World featherweight title
22	Template:Yes2Win	16-2-4	Template:Flagicon Monique Stroman	TKO		19 April 1998	Template:Flagicon Memorial Auditorium, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
21	Template:Yes2Win	15-2-4	Template:Flagicon Bonnie Canino	UD		11 January 1997	Template:Flagicon UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA	Women's International Boxing Federation World featherweight title
20	Template:Yes2Win	14-2-4	Template:Flagicon Debra Stroman	TKO		11 January 1997	Template:Flagicon Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
19	Template:Yes2Win	13-4-4	Template:Flagicon Patricia Simms	KO		29 November 1997	Template:Flagicon Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
18	Template:Yes2Win	12-4-2	Template:Flagicon Sharon Yates	TKO		29 November 1997	Template:Flagicon UAW Hall, Parma, Ohio, USA
17	Template:Yes2Win	11-4-2	Template:Flagicon Sharon Yates	KO		27 October 1996	Template:Flagicon Cleveland, Ohio, USA
16	Template:Yes2Win	10-4-2	Template:Flagicon Shannise Davis	TKO		18 September 1996	Template:Flagicon War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
15	Template:Yes2Win	9-4-2	Template:Flagicon Jessica Breitfelder	KO		13 July 1996	Template:Flagicon Mammoth Events Center, Denver, Colorado, USA
14	Template:No2Loss	8-4-2	Template:Flagicon Christy Martin	UD		16 March 1996	Template:Flagicon MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
13	Template:Yes2Win	8-3-2	Template:Flagicon Jessica Breitfelder	TKO		30 November 1995	Template:Flagicon Capitol Plaza Hotel, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA
12	Template:No2Loss	7-3-2	Template:Flagicon Laura Serrano	TKO		20 April 1995	Template:Flagicon Aladdin Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Women's International Boxing Federation World lightweight title
11	Template:Yes2Win	7-2-2	Template:Flagicon Isra Girgrah	TKO		14 February 1995	Template:Flagicon Youth Center, Cut Off, Louisiana, USA
10	Template:Yes2Win	6-2-2	Template:Flagicon Gail Grandchamp	TKO		6 October 1994	Template:Flagicon Tampa, Florida, USA
9	Template:No2Loss	5-2-2	Template:Flagicon Mary Ann Almager	TKO	6	22 July 1994	Template:Flagicon Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA
8	Template:Yes2Win	5-1-2	Template:Flagicon Angela Buchanan	TKO		8 April 1994	Template:Flagicon Kansas City, Missouri, USA
7	Template:No2Loss	4-1-2	Template:Flagicon Stacey Prestage	PTS		23 November 1993	Template:Flagicon Kansas City, Missouri, USA
6	Template:DrawDraw	4-0-2	Template:Flagicon Stacey Prestage	PTS		2 August 1993	Template:Flagicon Marriott Downtown, Kansas City, Missouri, USA	Women's International Boxing Association World lightweight title
5	Template:Yes2Win	4-0-1	Template:Flagicon Jane McGhee	TKO		13 May 1993	Template:Flagicon Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA
4	Template:Yes2Win	3-0-1	Template:Flagicon Jane Johnson	TKO		24 April 1993	Template:Flagicon London, United Kingdom
3	Template:DrawDraw	2-0-1	Template:Flagicon Stacey Prestage	TD		25 January 1993	Template:Flagicon Allis Plaza Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
2	Template:Yes2Win	2-0	Template:Flagicon Jane Johnson	TKO		8 April 1992	Template:Flagicon Town Hall, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom
1	Template:Yes2Win	1-0	Template:Flagicon Anne-Marie Griffin	PTS		30 June 1991	Template:Flagicon Limerick, Ireland

External links

• Template:Official website – official site
• Template:Boxrec