DUBLIN HEAVYWEIGHT THOMAS Carty will provide chief support to Katie Taylor on 5 September when he takes on popular puncher Dave Allen.
Taylor will face Frenchwoman Flora Pili at a sold-out Croke Park in her final fight and, following much speculation, the undercard for the event was announced at a press conference in Vicar Street this afternoon.
Phibsborough’s Thomas Carty (11-1, 9 KOs), on the comeback trail from an ACL injury last year which saw him fall to his sole career defeat, takes a big step up against Doncaster character Allen (26-9-2, 20 KOs) in the top-billed support contest.
The card also features an all-Irish welterweight showdown between Limerick’s Paddy Donovan (15-2, 11 KOs) and Belfast warhorse Tyrone McKenna (25-6-1, 8 KOs) along with plenty of Irish domestic talent and appearances from a number of prospects from Taylor’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing, and management, BP Boxing.
Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn said: “With so much Irish talent on the undercard, it will be a special, party atmosphere at Croke Park before 80,000 fans get behind the great Katie Taylor for her final ever fight.
“I love the Allen-Carty fight. Two experienced heavyweights, in a make-or-break fight, out to score an almighty win. Plus, Paddy Donovan fresh from his recent heroics in Germany looks to underline his status as Ireland’s No.1 welterweight – and underline why he is next in line to challenge for the IBF crown.
“It will be a huge celebration for Irish sport and this card – live worldwide on the Global Home of DAZN – will certainly deliver for the 80,000 fans who pack into Croke Park on September 5.”
The undercard is largely as predicted by The 42earlier this month.
Carty, 30, trained by Paschal Collins, has fought once since returning from a horror injury that saw him fall to an unfortunate TKO defeat to Dajuan Calloway in New York. Following an intensive year-long recovery, he cruised past German Skobenko in a low-key return at the 3Arena back in March. In Allen, Carty faces, by far, his strongest opponent to date.
‘The White Rhino’, known for his engaging online presence, is something of a cult hero amongst British boxing fans and has shown impressive durability in his losses to some of the biggest names in the sport. Allen has also underlined his danger at a certain level, most recently last May, with his derailing of the career of Essex ticket-seller and fellow social media icon Johnny Fisher.
Following his impressive final elimnator win over Karen Chukhadzhian in Germany last month, Donovan is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF title. ‘The Real Deal’ fought for that belt in Belfast back in September, being edged in his rematch at Windsor Park with Lewis Crocker but will have to wait slightly longer for his second shot at the crown due to overlapping timelines. Just last week, in his first defence, Crocker came on strong but narrowly lost the belt in Brisbane to talented Aussie Liam Paro in a bruising affair.
Matchroom sport chairman Eddie Hearn. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
As Paro would not be ready for 5 September, Donovan has elected to take on the grizzled McKenna in the meantime. The 36-year-old has a reputation as one of the great entertainers in Irish boxing, most recently stopping Waterford’s Dylan Moran on the Windsor Park undercard, but was dominated by Crocker back in 2023 and is unlikely to pose Donovan too many problems.
Irish middleweight champion Paul Ryan (10-2, 4 KOs), fresh from his thrilling title win over Peter Carr in April, will tackle Belfast veteran Paddy Gallagher (17-6-1, 10 KOs) in a non-title bout.
Gallagher, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in 2010, returned to the sport this year after over six years away and controversially fought his way onto this bill on Friday. Facing Limerick’s Graham McCormack in Belfast in a de facto eliminator, Gallagher was dropped twice and lost on points only for the result to be changed to a draw just an hour later due to a scoring ‘anomaly’. Gallagher, one of the most popular figures in Irish boxing, was initially accepting of the defeat and was apologetic afterwards when the verdict was overturned.
Also on the bill, Tokyo Olympian Emmet Brennan (6-0, 1 KO) jumps into the deep end against Southampton super-middleweight hotshot Taylor Bevan (9-0, 8 KOs). Bevan is one of a number of fighters managed by Brian Peters who will feature.
Another Irish champion, Coleraine super-bantamweight Matty Boreland (7-0, 2 KOs) will also have the odds against him when he takes on Liverpool prospect Joe McGrail (13-0, 6 KOs) for the WBA Continental Gold rankings belt.
Molly McCann. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Bringing some profile, former UFC fighter Molly McCann (4-0, 1 KO) will continue her boxing apprenticeship versus Yorkshire journeywoman Sylwia Doligala (8-2-2). Liverpudlian McCann, a first cousin of headliner Taylor, confirmed her spot on the show earlier this month.
Rounding out the card, there will be outings for Cabra light-middle Bobbi Flood (2-0, 1 KO) and Jobstown heavyweight Adam Olaniyan (2-0, 2 KOs), the opponents for whom will be announced in due course.
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Thomas Carty leads heavyweight undercard for Katie Taylor's Croke Park homecoming
DUBLIN HEAVYWEIGHT THOMAS Carty will provide chief support to Katie Taylor on 5 September when he takes on popular puncher Dave Allen.
Taylor will face Frenchwoman Flora Pili at a sold-out Croke Park in her final fight and, following much speculation, the undercard for the event was announced at a press conference in Vicar Street this afternoon.
Phibsborough’s Thomas Carty (11-1, 9 KOs), on the comeback trail from an ACL injury last year which saw him fall to his sole career defeat, takes a big step up against Doncaster character Allen (26-9-2, 20 KOs) in the top-billed support contest.
The card also features an all-Irish welterweight showdown between Limerick’s Paddy Donovan (15-2, 11 KOs) and Belfast warhorse Tyrone McKenna (25-6-1, 8 KOs) along with plenty of Irish domestic talent and appearances from a number of prospects from Taylor’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing, and management, BP Boxing.
Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn said: “With so much Irish talent on the undercard, it will be a special, party atmosphere at Croke Park before 80,000 fans get behind the great Katie Taylor for her final ever fight.
“I love the Allen-Carty fight. Two experienced heavyweights, in a make-or-break fight, out to score an almighty win. Plus, Paddy Donovan fresh from his recent heroics in Germany looks to underline his status as Ireland’s No.1 welterweight – and underline why he is next in line to challenge for the IBF crown.
“It will be a huge celebration for Irish sport and this card – live worldwide on the Global Home of DAZN – will certainly deliver for the 80,000 fans who pack into Croke Park on September 5.”
The undercard is largely as predicted by The 42 earlier this month.
Carty, 30, trained by Paschal Collins, has fought once since returning from a horror injury that saw him fall to an unfortunate TKO defeat to Dajuan Calloway in New York. Following an intensive year-long recovery, he cruised past German Skobenko in a low-key return at the 3Arena back in March. In Allen, Carty faces, by far, his strongest opponent to date.
‘The White Rhino’, known for his engaging online presence, is something of a cult hero amongst British boxing fans and has shown impressive durability in his losses to some of the biggest names in the sport. Allen has also underlined his danger at a certain level, most recently last May, with his derailing of the career of Essex ticket-seller and fellow social media icon Johnny Fisher.
Following his impressive final elimnator win over Karen Chukhadzhian in Germany last month, Donovan is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF title. ‘The Real Deal’ fought for that belt in Belfast back in September, being edged in his rematch at Windsor Park with Lewis Crocker but will have to wait slightly longer for his second shot at the crown due to overlapping timelines. Just last week, in his first defence, Crocker came on strong but narrowly lost the belt in Brisbane to talented Aussie Liam Paro in a bruising affair.
As Paro would not be ready for 5 September, Donovan has elected to take on the grizzled McKenna in the meantime. The 36-year-old has a reputation as one of the great entertainers in Irish boxing, most recently stopping Waterford’s Dylan Moran on the Windsor Park undercard, but was dominated by Crocker back in 2023 and is unlikely to pose Donovan too many problems.
Irish middleweight champion Paul Ryan (10-2, 4 KOs), fresh from his thrilling title win over Peter Carr in April, will tackle Belfast veteran Paddy Gallagher (17-6-1, 10 KOs) in a non-title bout.
Gallagher, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in 2010, returned to the sport this year after over six years away and controversially fought his way onto this bill on Friday. Facing Limerick’s Graham McCormack in Belfast in a de facto eliminator, Gallagher was dropped twice and lost on points only for the result to be changed to a draw just an hour later due to a scoring ‘anomaly’. Gallagher, one of the most popular figures in Irish boxing, was initially accepting of the defeat and was apologetic afterwards when the verdict was overturned.
Also on the bill, Tokyo Olympian Emmet Brennan (6-0, 1 KO) jumps into the deep end against Southampton super-middleweight hotshot Taylor Bevan (9-0, 8 KOs). Bevan is one of a number of fighters managed by Brian Peters who will feature.
Another Irish champion, Coleraine super-bantamweight Matty Boreland (7-0, 2 KOs) will also have the odds against him when he takes on Liverpool prospect Joe McGrail (13-0, 6 KOs) for the WBA Continental Gold rankings belt.
Bringing some profile, former UFC fighter Molly McCann (4-0, 1 KO) will continue her boxing apprenticeship versus Yorkshire journeywoman Sylwia Doligala (8-2-2). Liverpudlian McCann, a first cousin of headliner Taylor, confirmed her spot on the show earlier this month.
Rounding out the card, there will be outings for Cabra light-middle Bobbi Flood (2-0, 1 KO) and Jobstown heavyweight Adam Olaniyan (2-0, 2 KOs), the opponents for whom will be announced in due course.
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