Katie Taylor is determined to fight in Ireland at least once before calling it quits on her boxing career.
The 36-year-old will aim to extend her streak to 22 undefeated bouts on Saturday when she defends her undisputed lightweight champion status against Argentina’s Karen Elizabeth Carabajal at Wembley.
None of those contests, however, have taken place on home turf, despite a concerted effort by promoter Eddie Hearn to deliver 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 won a split-decision fight with Amanda Serrano at the New York City venue, told the PA news agency.
They were the first women to headline a fight during the Garden’s 140-year history, selling out the venue and attracting another 1.5million viewers, setting a record for the most-watched women’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 like it to be a rematch with Puerto Rican Serrano, with talks to stage a fight at the GAA HQ reportedly fizzling over the summer.
Earlier this month, American Claressa Shields’ battle with Britain’s Savannah Marshall broke the Taylor-Serrano viewing record, with two million watching Shields unify the world middleweight titles.
The County Wicklow native believes the future of Irish boxing looks especially bright after the country topped the medal table at last weekend’s amateur EUBC European Women’s Boxing Championships in Montenegro, including golds for Kellie Harrington, Amy Broadhurst and Aoife O’Rourke.
Dundalk boxer Broadhurst, who cliched world and Commonwealth Games titles earlier this year, was a particular standout for Taylor.
“We have a very, very strong Irish team at the moment,” said 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 part of the legacy Taylor — who insists she is nowhere near hanging up her gloves — ultimately wants to leave.
“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.”
