Katie Taylor is going to say goodbye to boxing. And her promoter says the right way to say goodbye is for her finale to land in the right place.
Croke Park, a large stadium in Ireland’s capital city of Dublin, is a place Taylor has long hoped to perform. She’s never competed there during her professional career, and hadn’t even had a pro fight in Ireland until 2023, when Taylor went 1-1 in a pair of bouts against Chantelle Cameron at Dublin’s 3Arena.
“I just want to fight in Dublin to end my career. Obviously we are still hoping for Croke Park, hanging on to a bit of hope that it can happen,” Taylor recently said. “Fighting my last fight in our most iconic arena, how special would that be? I think it would be absolutely remarkable if I was able to do that. I’m not sure if it’s going to happen or not. Either way, I’ll be ending my career here, and I’m very excited about that.”
Eddie Hearn, whose Matchroom Boxing has promoted Taylor since the two-time Olympian entered the paid ranks, feels it is his responsibility to make that happen.
“That’s a shitload of work to make sure that one of the greatest athletes of all time gets her ultimate dream. And I have to deliver Croke Park. I have to,” Hearn said Monday on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“If I don’t give this everything, if I don’t try my very hardest to make this a reality, I’m not doing Katie justice and I’m not doing myself justice. Because this would be the greatest sporting event ever in the history of Ireland.”
Hearn said he’s had conversations with Croke Park officials before, and those talks have resumed.
“This time there's more momentum,” he said.
Taylor won Olympic gold in London in 2012 in the lightweight tournament but was dispatched in the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.
Less than three years after her pro debut, Taylor became the undisputed lightweight champion in 2019. In 2023, she challenged Cameron for the undisputed crown at 140lbs but lost a majority decision. Six months later, Taylor triumphed in their rematch by majority decision to become undisputed in her second weight class.
Since then, Taylor’s wrapped up her trilogy with Amanda Serrano, both of their final two bouts coming in front of significant audiences on Netflix. Their fight in November 2024 was the co-feature to Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and stole the show. As with their first meeting in 2022, it was the Fight of the Year in women’s boxing.
Taylor-Serrano III headlined at Madison Square Garden last July. In the first non-controversial decision of the trilogy, Taylor won a majority decision and moved to 25-1 (6 KOs).
With her career winding down – she turns 40 this July – Taylor parted with her WBC title and has been named the organization’s “Champion Emeritus.” She remains the IBF, WBA and WBO titleholder at 140lbs.
Hearn didn’t name any potential opponents for Taylor’s retirement bout.
“You obviously want to have an opponent that is compelling, is competitive, there’s a storyline behind,” he said. “Nothing really discussed or spoken about an opponent. It’s really trying to get the conversations with Croke Park into that being a possibility before we move forward with that.”
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
