Just hours ahead of Katie Taylor’s homecoming fight in the 3Arena in Dublin, boxing fans and names alike gathered at Irishtown Stadium for the Matchroom Boxing Fight Day 5k.
Notably absent from the event was Taylor herself, presumably getting in the zone ahead of the undisputed super lightweight championship against Chantelle Cameron.
Professional boxer and Donegal native, Jason Quigley, took part in the run, claiming to have “lapped Eddie Hearn three times” in the process.
Quigley will be doing commentary on the undercard at the 3Arena this evening, and said the event is fantastic for women’s boxing.
Mark O'Connell: The mystery is not why we Irish have responded to Israel’s barbarism. It’s why others have not
Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban blocks last hope of jobs
Emer McLysaght: The seven deadly things you should never buy a child at Christmas
‘No place to hide’: Trapped on the US-Mexico border, immigrants fear deportation
“I think we might actually be at the stage where we can now stop using the term about that, and just bring them all as one and be like ‘how great is this for boxing?’, it really is getting to the stage where it doesn’t matter now if it’s women or men, whereas before it did,” Quigley said.
However, he also said that the fact that the homecoming fight was originally promised to be in Croke Park, with a far larger capacity, is like if “you’re told you’re getting a Bentley and you end up getting a Renault Clio – it’s a big difference.
“Some people are in the description of, ‘oh like it was great, Croke Park is so big but it’s still great that she’s fighting here’, and that’s the people that probably don’t have a car and would still be happy with a Renault.
“It’s the best way I believe to sum it up, but I still believe that Croke Park is going to be a possibility at some stage,” Quigley added.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who is reportedly recovering from a calf injury, disagreed with Quigley’s analogies however, saying that Katie Taylor would disagree too.
He also said that Croke Park “may” happen, and that a homecoming fight “should have happened when she turned pro really,” however he is “just pleased to be back in Ireland.
“The fact that she has build into an even bigger star, the fact that it’s a massive fight, I think it is going to be extra special.
“We keep saying it’s a big night for Katie Taylor, it’s a big night for Irish boxing and sport, but particularly Irish boxing, it’s really the return of Irish boxing and a chance for these other great young fighters to come through,” Hearn said.
Terri Harper, a Doncaster boxer, was due to fight Cecilia Braekhus from Norway in the last of the undercard before Katie Taylor’s first professional fight in Ireland.
However, Braekhus withdrew from the WBA super-welterweight fight, posting on her Instagram account that she had woken up with flu-like symptoms on Saturday morning.
Speaking to The Irish Times at the Fight Day 5k, Harper said that women’s boxing has come a long way, and that she sees herself as a role model for the younger generation, “just giving them inspiration and hopes for their future and their dreams.
“I remember growing up and seeing Katie at the Olympics and stuff and how far it’s come and just to think that I’m now on the undercard at Katie’s homecoming, I honestly have to pinch myself sometimes and just appreciate how far I’ve come myself and being able to get myself in the position to be on such an amazing historical card,” Harper said, presumably before she found out that Braekhus had withdrawn.
Glaswegian boxer, Jay McFarlane made his confidence known at the Fight Day 5k, as he gets set to fight Thomas Carty at the 3Arena.
“I don’t know how the fight is going to go, I don’t know if it will be stoppage, if he’ll give up, of it’ll be points, but I know I’ve got the win in the bag,” he said.
McFarlane added that the night is “potentially the biggest night for Irish and women’s boxing – not just for Irish women’s boxing, the biggest night for Irish boxing, the biggest night for women’s boxing in history, it’s so, so amazing to be a part of.”
Social media star Eric Roberts was “dragged by the hind legs” to the five-kilometre run this morning.
“You can just see the atmosphere, like [Hearn] says, you can just see everyone’s really looking forward to seeing Katie take it home tonight,” Roberts said.
“It’s a big deal for boxing in general, I mean, Katie, if she wins tonight, she’ll probably solidify herself as one of the greatest boxers in Irish history, nothing to do with women’s boxing, so it’ll be amazing to see. I’ll be there cheering her on,” he said.
Taylor will attempt to make history by becoming a two-weight undisputed champion tonight, with Cameron putting her super-lightweight titles on the line. Both fighters are undefeated in 39 bouts between them.
The main event is expected to start around 10pm, with the main card commencing at 7pm. The fights will be broadcast exclusively on streaming service DAZN.
Tonight’s fight is the biggest boxing event in Dublin since Bernard Dunne defeated Ricardo Cordoba in 2009, and marks the return of professional boxing for the first time since the Regency Hotel shooting in February 2016.
