By Tom Degun

Katie TaylorDecember 10 - Irish boxing icon Katie Taylor has been named the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women's Boxing Ambassador.

The 26-year-old from County Wicklow has long been the dominant force in women's boxing but she gained superstar status at London 2012 when she became the first ever female lightweight Olympic champion in history as she defeated Russia's Sofya Ochigava 10-8 in the gold medal bout at ExCeL.

The Olympic gold medal was the latest title in a long list for Taylor as she is a four-time world champion and a five-time European champion.

Following her London 2012 exploits, she also claimed the AIBA Elite Woman Boxer of the Year trophy for the third time and she claimed she was honoured to become AIBA's Women's Boxing Ambassador in the lead up to the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she will be looking to defend her title.

"It is an honour for me to be nominated AIBA Women's Boxing Ambassador," Taylor said.

"I cannot wait to start in this role.

"I want to help further elevate women's boxing to ensure it sits at the pinnacle of sporting achievement."

KatieTaylorKatie Taylor gained superstar status at London 2012 when she became the first ever female lightweight Olympic champion in history

AIBA President C K Wu said he believes Taylor will be perfect for the Ambassadorial role.

"AIBA is extremely happy that Katie has accepted our offer to become AIBA Women's Boxing Ambassador," said Wu, who spearheaded the move to get women's boxing on the Olympic programme back in 2009.

"She has inspired a generation of women boxers and the acceptance of women's boxing in the Olympic programme has been in part a result of her outstanding achievements.

"She is now a role model to youngsters around the globe and we are looking forward to working closely with her in the build-up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games."

Women's boxing proved one of the huge success stories of London 2012 as it appeared in the three weight categories of flyweight, lightweight and middleweight.

As well as Taylor's lightweight gold, Britain's Nicola Adams took victory at flyweight, while America's Claressa Shields took the top spot at middleweight.

Following London 2012, Wu made it clear he will push to have more women's weight categories in place for Rio 2016.

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