Katie Taylor has said talks at Croke Park in recent weeks regarding the venue potentially staging her farewell fight were “very positive”, but insisted there has been no confirmation the bout will go ahead as yet.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was in Dublin earlier this month for talks with Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna on the long anticipated fight at GAA headquarters.
Speaking in Dublin on Tuesday, Taylor (39) said it would be “an absolute dream” to finish her career at the venue.
“It feels like the only way to wrap it up,” she said. “I’ve had an amazing career – fought all over the world – but to end my career in Croke Park would be the icing on the cake, not just for me but everybody who’s supported me.
“I get emotional sometimes thinking about all the stadiums around the world singing Olé Olé Olé. I want to bring that song back home. Imagine 80,000 people in Croke Park singing that song for my last fight. It would be a special, special night.”
On the logistics, she said there are “obviously many considerations”, but added her team are “working very hard”.
“We had a very positive meeting a few weeks back with Peter McKenna from Croke Park,” she said. “It went very, very well. [There is] still no confirmation but it was a very positive meeting.”
Asked whether she would consider boxing at the Aviva Stadium if Croke Park does not work out, she said: “No, it’s nothing but Croke Park for me.”
Hearn in recent weeks ruled out the possibility that Taylor’s fight would act as an undercard for a bout between British former world heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Antony Joshua.
“There is nothing else on the agenda other than Katie Taylor,” said Hearn. “Anthony Joshua against Tyson Fury is, for me, not a fight or not going to happen at Croke Park.
“And I would also say, and I’ll tell you very clearly, Katie Taylor is not fighting on any undercard.
“If there is a fight at Croke Park, it should be Katie Taylor, and Katie Taylor only.
“That is the whole story, that is the history, that is the legacy, and this is nothing short [of what] she deserves.”
Taylor has made clear her desire to end her career with a fight in Dublin.
“There’s massive public demand, massive momentum for this to happen,” said Hearn. “Katie Taylor’s made it clear she was to fight one final time. She’s done absolutely everything in the sport [that] you can do.
“This is the moment where Irish sport stops and pays homage to what is, not just one of the greatest people of all time, but one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Ireland.
“She deserves this so much and we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.”
McKenna previously said Croke Park “would be able to facilitate” a Taylor fight if the stadium also hosted Joshua’s grudge match against Fury.
But with that bout now being lined up for November, Dublin is no longer seen as a viable option with Hearn revealing it was just one of several possibilities under consideration.
