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Katie Taylor's promoters set for talks with Croke Park officials on Friday

Katie Taylor, left, and Amanda Serrano after the tenth round after their undisputed super lightweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA.
Katie Taylor's last professional fight will take place this summer at a venue yet to be determined

Katie Taylor's promotional team will travel to Dublin on Friday for talks about a potential fight in Croke Park later this year.

Matchroom Boxing, headed by chairman Eddie Hearn, will meet with Croke Park officials with a view to securing a deal.

Hearn will be among their delegation flying to Dublin for the discussions.

The venue had been linked with hosting the mega fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in recent days, with Taylor also on the card to fulfil her dream of fighting in the biggest stadium in the country.

It is likely that this week’s talks will focus on Taylor being in a main event bout.

Taylor has already agreed to fight in Dublin this summer for what will be a career farewell.

With Croke Park set to be in action for the All-Ireland finals until 9 August, it would point towards mid-to-late August when concerts and other sports take over at the stadium and the pitch is no longer in use for football and hurling.

Manchester United will face Leeds United in a friendly on Wednesday, 12 August, while concerts are scheduled for the final two weekends of the month.

Croke Park chief executive Peter McKenna last week stated that the stadium "would be able to facilitate" Taylor's swansong if it also won the race to stage Joshua’s grudge match against Fury.

But with the biggest fight in British boxing history now being lined up for November, Dublin is no longer seen as a viable option with Hearn revealing it was just one of several possibilities under consideration.

"If this (Joshua v Fury) takes place in November, it won’t be outdoors in Dublin and so therefore we just want to move forward with Katie Taylor," Hearn said.

"With all due respect, I don’t think it’s the place to do this fight, either. Also, absolutely over my dead body is Katie Taylor going on an undercard at Croke Park.

"We’ll find out more on Friday. We’re ready to go and are up for doing it. Not necessarily with a finalised opponent, but in terms of the costs and the running of the show.

"Croke Park want to do it, but when they said 'Fury v AJ would give Katie the opportunity to fight there’, I was like ‘mate, don’t ******* get the blood boiling’."

Speaking to RTÉ Sport in February, Taylor said: "Croke Park would the top of the list.

"Fighting my last fight in our most iconic arena, how special would that be?

"I think it would be absolutely remarkable if I was able to do that. I'm not sure if it is going to happen or not.

"Either way, I'll be ending my career here and I'm very, very excited about that."

The Bray boxer was last in action back in July when she completed a trio of victories over Amanda Serrano as she retained her undisputed super lightweight titles.

As a result, she will have been a year out of the ring when the bout does happen.

The ambition to fight in Croke Park has been discussed for several years without coming to fruition, leaving this Friday’s meeting as the last opportunity for it to materialise.

Additional reporting: PA

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