Eddie Hearn says Katie Taylor’s professional career may end without another fight if a planned Croke Park card cannot be finalized, telling Sky Sports that the Dublin stadium has become a non-negotiable condition for the Irish boxer’s farewell.

“Croke Park or bust,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “[If] it’s not happening, I think she’d go: ‘I’m done.’ I think the deflation of not getting Croke Park will lend itself to saying I surrender.”

The Target Date

Hearn said discussions with the venue have progressed, though no agreement has been formally announced. He pointed to a late summer window for the proposed event.

“We’re in a good place,” Hearn said. “It’s not confirmed but we’re making huge progress in that respect. Planning for end of August, early September. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.”

Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association, holds approximately 80,000 spectators and is the largest stadium in Ireland. Under GAA Rule 42, the use of the venue for non-Gaelic sports requires authorization from the association’s Central Council. The stadium has hosted rugby, association football, and concerts in recent decades, and Muhammad Ali fought an exhibition there in 1972.

A Career Without the Home Date

Taylor, 39, captured Olympic gold for Ireland at the 2012 London Games before turning professional. She has held undisputed status in two weight classes, avenged her sole professional loss in a rematch with Chantelle Cameron, and completed a three-fight series with Amanda Serrano.

Despite that résumé, Taylor has never fought professionally in Ireland. Speaking in Dublin in late April, she told The Irish Times that she had ruled out the nearby Aviva Stadium as an alternative.

“No, it’s nothing but Croke Park for me,” Taylor said. She also confirmed that her team had met with Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna. “We had a very positive meeting a few weeks back with Peter McKenna from Croke Park.”

Hearn framed the project as a cultural event built around the boxing card.

“This is above and beyond boxing, this is folklore in this country,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “The event won’t just be boxing. It’ll be a celebration of Irish sport and culture and heritage and music and all that kind of stuff. Don’t get me wrong, there’ll be some great fights on the card.”

No Co-Headliner

Hearn has separately ruled out the possibility of Taylor’s fight sharing a card with the planned Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua bout, telling The Irish Times that the heavyweight matchup was being lined up for November and that Taylor would not appear on an undercard.

“There is nothing else on the agenda other than Katie Taylor,” Hearn said. “And I would also say, and I’ll tell you very clearly, Katie Taylor is not fighting on any undercard. If there is a fight at Croke Park, it should be Katie Taylor, and Katie Taylor only.”

Possible Opponents

Hearn said no opponent has been selected and that several sanctioning bodies have outstanding mandatory orders attached to Taylor’s titles.

“We spoke to MVP [Most Valuable Promotions], they’ve talked about Caroline Dubois, they’ve been pushing Stephanie Han very hard, she’s a lightweight world champion,” Hearn said. “Once we get the all clear we’ll start exploring opponents.”

He added that the matchup would be determined by weight class and financial terms, and that the promotion was prioritizing venue confirmation before opponent talks.

“There’s a load of options. We have got about four mandatories with different governing bodies. We haven’t looked too hard across that yet because we want to make sure we can definitely do it first,” Hearn said. “We want a good fight. It’s got to be a real fight.”