Katie Taylor is set to struggle in Ireland at the least as soon as earlier than calling it quits on her boxing profession.
The 36-year-old will purpose to increase her streak to 22 undefeated bouts on Saturday when she defends her undisputed light-weight champion standing towards Argentina’s Karen Elizabeth Carabajal at Wembley.
None of these contests, nonetheless, have taken place on dwelling turf, regardless of a concerted effort by promoter Eddie Hearn to ship the ‘Bray Bomber’ to Dublin.
“The only thing that can actually top what happened at Madison Square Garden would be a big homecoming final at Croke Park, 80,000 people,” Taylor, who in April received a split-decision struggle with Amanda Serrano on the New York City venue, instructed the PA information company.
They had been the primary ladies to headline a struggle throughout the Garden’s 140-year historical past, promoting out the venue and attracting one other 1.5million viewers, setting a report for the most-watched ladies’s boxing match of all time.
“[Croke Park] would be the stuff of dreams, really,” continued Taylor. “I’ve been a professional boxer for six years and I haven’t actually fought at home, so I can’t wait to make that homecoming fight. I hope that can happen.”
Ideally, Hearn and Taylor would really like it to be a rematch with Puerto Rican Serrano, with talks to stage a struggle on the GAA HQ reportedly fizzling over the summer time.
Earlier this month, American Claressa Shields’ battle with Britain’s Savannah Marshall broke the Taylor-Serrano viewing report, with two million watching Shields unify the world middleweight titles.
The County Wicklow native believes the way forward for Irish boxing seems to be particularly vibrant after the nation topped the medal desk finally weekend’s novice EUBC European Women’s Boxing Championships in Montenegro, together with golds for Kellie Harrington, Amy Broadhurst and Aoife O’Rourke.
Dundalk boxer Broadhurst, who cliched world and Commonwealth Games titles earlier this yr, was a specific standout for Taylor.
“We have a very, very strong Irish team at the moment,” mentioned Taylor. “Amy Broadhurst is a phenomenal young fighter who I actually brought in for sparring for my last fight. We did plenty of rounds of sparring.
“Girls like her I think are going to be just huge in the sport in years to come, and I’m just excited to sit back and watch them and watch their progress.”
It is all a part of the legacy Taylor — who insists she is nowhere close to hanging up her gloves — finally desires to depart.
“The most important part for me is having an impact and an influence on the next generation, because that’s what it’s all about,” she added.
“Some of the next generation of female fighters are going to grow up to be superstars in the sport and they won’t have had the obstacles we actually had, and that to me is very, very special.”
Source: www.impartial.co.uk