Katie Taylor’s final curtain ambitions will be fulfilled. After years of trying to get her dream fight at Croke Park, she will end her professional career at GAA Headquarters later this year.
The milestone event will be formally unveiled at a major press conference at the stadium at 2pm on Friday, which will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
The 2012 Olympic gold medal winner has repeatedly spoken of her desire to stage a special homecoming bout in Ireland’s largest sporting arena before retiring and there is speculation that her swansong may occur there on September 5th.
It is also rumoured that a major concert artist will perform on the night.
The venue last hosted a professional boxing bout in 1972, when Muhammad Ali defeated Al ‘Blue’ Lewis. But previous attempts by Taylor’s promoter, Matchroom Sport, to find common ground with Croke Park were unsuccessful because of security costs and concerns over the commercial viability of staging the event.
However, the 39-year-old Bray fighter had pushed hard to make it happen in recent months, using media appearances in this country to put forward her arguments. “It would be the icing on the cake to end my career in Croke Park,” Taylor said.
“I fought in Madison Square Garden. I fought in the Excel Arena in London. I fought all around the world. This might even top it, to be honest, if I ended my career here.”
There was a breakthrough in negotiations when Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn recently visited the stadium for talks, bringing to an end a four-year stalemate that dates back to Taylor first raising the prospect of fighting on Jones’s Road after her victory over Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden.
Ticket details and confirmation of Taylor’s opponent are expected to form part of Friday’s announcement.
Flora Pili is a front-runner to fill that role; the French boxer is the top-ranked contender for the recently vacated WBC belt and the mandatory challenger for Taylor’s IBF light-welterweight title.
Taylor is the current IBF, WBA and WBO champion and so the fight night could feature a showdown for all the belts at 140lbs.
Former UFC and world boxing champion Holly Holm has expressed interest in facing her, while Chantelle Cameron remains a possibility. Cameron’s victory over Taylor at the 3Arena in May 2023 remains the only defeat of her pro career, although Taylor gained revenge in their rematch six months later.
Whoever her opponent is, Taylor will do everything in her power to go out with a bang.
“The thoughts of seeing all the tricolours, 80,000 people in Croke Park for my farewell fight, can it get any better than that? That would be very, very special,” she said recently.
