Taylor Eyes Focused Squarely On Croker Curtain Call As Katie Seal New Business Venture

Plans are afoot for a life outside the ring for the Bray Bomber Katie Taylor but the dream of Croke park is firmly on the horizon

Katie Taylor has been reflecting on her career and what comes next, with an intense focus on a potential landmark nights under the lights of Croke Park to round off a glorious twenty years of boxing success.

While she has announced a shareholder role in drinks venture Fizzique, the Bray Bomber says her focus remains firmly rooted in what boxing has taught her, especially as she edges towards life after the sport.

Speaking at a launch event in Dublin, she pointed to the mindset required to reach the top of boxing “You have to be completely committed with your heart, mind, and soul. Anything less is dangerous,” she said.

She also highlighted the relentless nature of elite competition “You have to be willing to grind and hustle. You have to be able to pick yourself up after setbacks. You have to be unafraid of failure. You need to know the competition and be willing to go further and work harder.”

For Taylor, those demands were lived out on the biggest stages of her career, but she has singularly again reinforced her desire to end her career at Croke Park.

Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn and management team including Brian Peters have sat down with Croker officials this month to push forward talks on a career-defining farewell fight at the iconic stadium.

Taylor said: ‘’My team are working very hard behind the scenes to try and make that happen. There’s obviously so many considerations to make it happen, and we’re hoping to hear some news soon. The meeting that they had a couple of weeks ago, Eddie Hearn and my manager Brian [Peters], were in Croke Park a few weeks ago and the meeting was very, very positive. So, we’ll see what happens.

‘’It’s the stadium that matters to me exactly. This career has been absolutely remarkable. The minute I put on my gloves at nine or ten years of age, I don’t think anyone could have imagined the career I’ve had.''

After her closely fought third bout with Amanda Serrano in New York last July, she says her perspective shifted.

“After the last fight, it felt different. It felt like I was passing on the baton. I felt a sense of closure. I felt a sense of fullness of the journey.”

That sense of completion, she suggests, now sits alongside her transition away from boxing, even as she begins exploring new ventures outside the ring.

The world champion boxer reiterated her avowed hope to the assembled press pack on her enduring dream: "Croke Park or nowhere for me. If it doesn't happen, it would be very, very disappointing.”

She added: ’It would be an absolute dream. It feels like the only way to wrap it up really would be to end my career on home soil in a big fight in Croke Park. And, not just for me, but for everybody else that has spent their hard-earned money supporting me around the world, and I want to put on a performance worthy of their support and encouragement throughout the years as well.

"I actually just even get emotional thinking about all the stadiums around the world with the song ‘Olé Olé Olé’. Imagine hearing 80,000 people in Croke Park singing that song for my last fight. I get goosebumps nearly thinking of it, to be honest. It would be the icing on the cake for me to end my career here.’'

East Coast FM - Courtesy jamie.ryan_

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