Will Katie Taylor fill Croke Park? Don’t bet against her

Katie Taylor will face Flora Pili at Croke Park. Pic: Damien Eagers/PA Wire.

In the end, it was the thought of the beginning that brought overwhelming tears. The belated realisation of the scale of Katie Taylor’s monumental journey had the big house in a state of quiet reverence.

Her manager Brian Peters has been by her side from day one. He is steeped in Irish boxing, the man who steered the Bernard Dunne era and still maintains a couple of compelling prospects in his current stable, but this was the gargantuan one. 

Confirmation that Taylor’s swansong will be against undefeated French fighter Flora Pili on 5 September.

Typically, he watches from the wings. He was there when the ‘Bosh Army’ that follows heavyweight Johnny Fisher interrupted a London press conference with their cacophonous chanting. 

He was there when an MVP staffer tried to stop Taylor’s promoter and coach from joining her on the press conference stage after the second Amanda Serrano showdown, that time in combative form.

There have been some truly extraordinary Taylor press conferences, before and after bouts. Such a trek to this almighty summit was always going to bring the weird and the wonderful. 

Who could forget the 2019 midnight scene in Manchester where Christina Linardatou and her team vented away, claiming the Bray boxer was ‘fake’ and ‘protected’, despite Taylor soundly beating the Greek contender?

Yet, this was different. It was the most sincere and relaxed press conference of Taylor’s career. It was packed with promoters, sponsors, her next opponent and the media, many of whom have been ferried all over the world thanks to her singular talent. 

All of that congealed to make the Meath man break. Peters needed a moment, a drink and a shake of the head that a rare agreement to be part of the announcement event had led to this.

“This is my first public appearance in 20 years,” he said with a smile. “I’ll be crawling back under my rock after this.” Back to the genesis. The spark that ignited their rocket to this exalted place in the solar system.

“We went into you that day, Eddie,” Peters recalled of their first meeting in 2016. “I don’t think we really had a plan. We didn’t know where we were going. We didn’t know how we were going to do it. After Katie spoke to you, just with the conviction she showed, I think you believed we had something very special.” 

As the media queued outside of Croke Park, the steady cadence of cars honking horns echoed through the air. The secret was already out at that stage. A formidable part of the challenge was securing the venue; the next step is filling it.

The inclusion of music promoter Peter Aiken at the table was notable. Aiken Promotions, Peters later revealed, do almost 500 shows per year. They understand the stadium and the Irish market. It was Peters who approached him to get involved.

In a sporting context, filling Croke Park has proved a tall order even for its owners. In order to make it happen, they will need to execute a relentless sell. That started on Friday.

Tickets are priced from €38.70. Taylor is set to depart on a four-day promotional tour of Ireland, starting in Bray on Saturday, before reaching Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Belfast. 

A double-decker bus with her face and the slogan ‘witnessing history’ was parked up outside the ground on Friday evening. There were already digital billboards advertising the date on the Drumcondra Road. Documentary maker Ross Whitaker, who previously directed the superb ‘Katie’, stalked the room with his camera.

Will that lead to huge demand for tickets? Who knows. But as cliché as it sounds, defying the odds is what the 39-year-old has done throughout this phenomenal crusade. It has been a lifetime of being told what she couldn’t do and doing it anyway.

That will involve some promotional hard yards. After her first homecoming in the 3Arena, it was clear the pre-fight circus took its toll. That said, she is willing to do what it takes before her farewell.

“I wouldn’t say it's easier,” she said on Friday. “This is all part and parcel of it. I’m super grateful for the support. I’m doing my job here. I have to do what I have to do. I much prefer the fighting part rather than the talking part.” 

The payoff is worth the price.

“If this is what it takes for Croke Park to happen, I’m all in.” 

Later, Peters paused briefly to talk to a smaller group of Irish journalists and articulated his vision for the bill. He spoke about his memory of being there when the Pope came to Ireland or when the Special Olympics graced Croke Park. It will be about cultural legacy.

“Just to understand what Croke Park means to us. To understand what it means to have it here. That man asked a good question. Would Aviva Stadium have been the same? It just wouldn’t have been the same.” 

That is their pitch. A joyous night at a hallowed place.

“We are going to have a couple of stages. There is going to be some entertainment. We don’t know who yet. I know there are all kinds of rumours going around. We are not sure yet. It is going to be an event more than just a boxing match. I know the opponent might not be what people wanted or expected, but it is not really about the opponent.

“She has fought anyone. Everyone. We did approach some names and they were pricing themselves a little bit silly. It is really an event. It is just going to be a very special night.”