Katie Taylor still chasing Croke Park farewell fight

Taylor told the press she wants her final fight to take place at Croke Park. Nothing has been signed. No opponent has been named. No broadcast deal exists. She has said this before.

Taylor informed the WBC in September that she needed time away. They granted her Champion in Recess status. She still holds every major belt at super lightweight, WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring. The Serrano fight was seven months ago. That is the longest she has been out of the ring in years.

Champion in Recess is a category that exists to protect fighters dealing with personal issues or injuries without forcing them to vacate. It also protects the sanctioning body from having to strip a popular name. Taylor’s situation falls somewhere in that space.

She tried to make a fight at Croke Park happen before. It did not work. When asked at the GAA event if there were active negotiations, she said she was not sure. She added that they had attempted to arrange it a couple of years ago but could not. She is still hoping.

The obstacles have never been fully explained. Venue logistics, broadcast money, opponent leverage—any of those could have been the issue. Croke Park is not a boxing venue. It is a GAA stadium. Getting approval for a professional fight requires coordination that does not always align with what a fighter or promoter wants.

Chantelle Cameron was the WBC mandatory before Taylor went into recess. Cameron beat her in May 2023 at the 3Arena in Dublin. Taylor won the rematch six months later at the same venue. Cameron is now scheduled to fight Sandy Ryan for the vacant WBC title, which means she is no longer waiting for Taylor.

Taylor has mentioned Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm as possible opponents. She also said she is not sure how some of those rumors started. Rousey has not fought in mixed martial arts since 2016 and has never boxed professionally. Holm is forty-three and has not boxed since 2013. These are not serious fights.

Taylor lives in Connecticut. She trains there and has built her professional career under Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing in the United States and the United Kingdom. Her connection to Ireland is personal and promotional. She wants to finish at Croke Park because it would mean something to her and because it would sell.

Whether that happens depends on factors outside her control. Venue approval, broadcast interest, opponent availability, and timing all have to align. Taylor saying she wants to retire at Croke Park in 2026 is not the same as having a fight booked there.

She has been undisputed at lightweight and super lightweight. She has fought Serrano three times. She has headlined major cards in New York and London. If she retires this year, it will be after a career that changed the commercial ceiling for women’s boxing. Whether she retires in Dublin or somewhere else will not change that.