Deirdre Gogarty

Deirdre Gogarty (born November 10, 1969) is a retired Irish female boxer and current coach of the Ragin' Cajun Boxing Club who hails from Drogheda, Ireland.^[1] Due to legal issues regarding Women's Boxing in Ireland at the time, Gogarty could not engage in competition there.^[2] She currently fights out of Lafayette, Louisiana and is managed and trained by Beau Williford. However, before the law was passed in Ireland, preventing women from engaging in boxing events, Gogarty was able to begin her career there with a six-round decision win against Anne-Marie Griffin. The law preventing females from participating in the sport of boxing in Ireland has since been revoked and there is an increasing number of females becoming involved with the sport thanks to its Olympic acceptance and the consistent international success of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.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

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, who Gogarty knocked out in three rounds. This is considered her biggest win to date. She ten 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.^[8] This fight made the covers of many magazines.^[9] Many fans of Women's Boxing considered it the female version of the Thrilla in Manila.^[10] Martin won by a six-round decision.^[11]

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 Champtionship.^[12] Gogarty became a World Champion after winning the fight on a ten-round decision.^[13] 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.

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 August 8, 2012.^[14] 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.

In 2015, Gogarty was inducted into the Women's International Boxing Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The IWBHF was created by founderSue TL Fox.^[15]

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
23	Loss		Beverly Szymanski	UD		Oct 1, 1998	Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA}}	vacant International Women's Boxing Federation World featherweight title
22	Yes		Monique Stroman	TKO		Apr 19, 1998	Memorial Auditorium, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA}}
21	Yes		Bonnie Canino	UD		Jan 11, 1997	UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA}}	Women's International Boxing Federation World featherweight title
20	Yes		Debra Stroman	TKO		Jan 11, 1997	Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee, USA}}
19	Yes		Patricia Simms	KO		Nov 29, 1997	Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA}}
18	Yes		Sharon Yates	TKO		Nov 29, 1997	UAW Hall, Parma, Ohio, USA}}
17	Yes		Sharon Yates	KO		Oct 27, 1996	Cleveland, Ohio, USA}}
16	Yes		Shannise Davis	TKO		Sep 18, 1996	War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA}}
15	Yes		Jessica Breitfelder	KO		Jul 13, 1996	Mammoth Events Center, Denver, Colorado, USA}}
14	Loss		Christy Martin	UD		Mar 16, 1996	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA}}
13	Yes		Jessica Breitfelder	TKO		Nov 30, 1995	Capitol Plaza Hotel, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA}}
12	Loss		Laura Serrano	TKO		Apr 20, 1995	Aladdin Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA}}	Women's International Boxing Federation World lightweight title
11	Yes		Isra Girgrah	TKO		Feb 14, 1995	Youth Center, Cut Off, Louisiana, USA}}
10	Yes		Gail Grandchamp	TKO		Oct 6, 1994	Tampa, Florida, USA}}
9	Loss		Mary Ann Almager	TKO		Jul 22, 1994	Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA}}
8	Yes		Angela Buchanan	TKO		Apr 8, 1994	Kansas City, Missouri, USA}}
7	Loss		Stacey Prestage	PTS		Nov 23, 1993	Kansas City, Missouri, USA}}
6	Draw		Stacey Prestage	PTS		Aug 2, 1993	Marriott Downtown, Kansas City, Missouri, USA}}	Women's International Boxing Association World lightweight title
5	Yes		Jane McGhee	TKO		May 13, 1993	Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA}}
4	Yes		Jane Johnson	TKO		Apr 24, 1993	London, United Kingdom}}
3	Draw		Stacey Prestage	TD		Jan 25, 1993	Allis Plaza Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri, USA}}
2	Yes		Jane Johnson	TKO		Apr 8, 1992	Town Hall, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom}}
1	Yes		Anne-Marie Griffin	PTS		Jun 30, 1991	Limerick, Ireland}}

References

External links

• Deirdre Gogarty – official site
• Professional boxing record for Deirdre Gogarty from BoxRec