Katie Taylor's homecoming fight is back on the cards as MMA superstar Cris Cyborg is willing to switch to boxing to make the bout happen this year.
The Brazilian wants to fight the Bray Bomber at Croke Park - and is open to the bout taking place this autumn.
Cyborg has been named as one of three potential opponents for Taylor by the lightweight champion's promoter Eddie Hearn and she is ready to cross over to boxing to make the fight happen.
Momentum had been building for a rematch between Taylor and Amanda Serrano to take place at GAA HQ in late September or early October after their historic classic at Madison Square Garden earlier this year, but that bout now appears to be dead in the water.
Matchroom boss Hearn claimed Serrano and her promoter Jake Paul "don’t want to go to Ireland" and "don’t really want a rematch this year".
His comments came after the Puerto Rican said over the weekend that she would return to action in August, more than likely on the undercard of Paul's expected fight with Tommy Fury.
But Cyborg, who currently holds Bellator's featherweight title and is regarded as one of the greatest female mixed martial artists of all time, says she is ready to sit down and talk with Taylor's promoter.
The former UFC star told the Irish Mirror: "I am ready to sit down and talk to Eddie whenever he is ready. Right now he has mentioned my name in the media a few times, but for me I am serious about getting into boxing and if he is serious about being my promoter then I would love to talk to him.
"What he has been able to do for all of women's boxing, not just Katie Taylor, has really helped elevate the sport for all the women competing. I have told my management I am ready to sign a contract for my first professional boxing fight, the time is now."
Cyborg fights at 145lbs, some ten pounds higher than the lightweight limit Taylor competes at, and she wants the 2012 Olympic gold medallist to come up in weight to make the fight happen.
She added: "To make it interesting for the fans she would have to be willing to do what Floyd Mayweather did against Conor McGregor and she would have to come up in weight a little bit to give the fans the biggest fight that can be made in women's boxing.
"Realistically I think the fight would have to happen at 143lbs, but I think it would be a great fight for both of us and we could share a part of our soul with the crowd that night."
Cyborg has suffered just two defeats in 29 MMA fights, one of which came in her debut bout back in 2005 with the other coming against fellow Brazilian Amanda Nunes in 2018.
Among those victories was a successful title defence of the UFC's featherweight belt against Holly Holm, who is the other name Hearn has mentioned as a possible opponent for Taylor.
The Curitiba native, who is one year older than Taylor, has never fought in a boxing bout but is seen as one of the hardest punchers in women's MMA, with a lot of her victories coming via knockout by punches, including in just 92 seconds against Dubliner Sinead Kavanagh last November.
Bellator president Scott Coker revealed recently that he is willing to allow Cyborg to move to boxing while she is under contract with the promotion and a fight with Taylor would not be difficult to make as a result.
Meanwhile, Cyborg says she sees a lot of similarities between Irish and Brazilian fans and admits fighting in front of 80,000 people would be a dream come true.
She said: "I was at the Jose Aldo fight against Conor McGregor live and remember how crazy the Brazilian and Irish fans were the entire event.
"I think it would be an honor to challenge myself against a legend like Katie Taylor and doing it in front of a stadium of 80,000 people is the type of nights you dream about as a fighter."
Cyborg travelled to New York to watch Taylor's historic win over Serrano at Madison Square Garden and was blown away by the event.
She added: "Watching Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano live was one of the best sporting moments as a fan I have ever been a part of. The atmosphere the entire week was amazing.
"The Puerto Rican fans and the Irish fans reminded me a lot of the Brazilian fans with the way they supported their fighter.
"It was amazing to see an entire event filled with great fights and to see the main event being headlined by two of the greatest female fighters ever was remarkable and inspiring.
"It was special because you had so many female champions from so many different promoters, weight classes, fighting eras, and they all showed up to give the event their support.
"In the sport of MMA we have never seen a night where all the legends past and present have unified to promote an event, what Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul were able to do was something special."
Taylor has previously stated she is "very interested" in fighting Cyborg.
The world champion, who turns 36 next month, said: "She is a name that has been thrown around and I'm very happy to step in the ring with her if she's open to that."
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