{"id":137950,"date":"2026-08-19T13:51:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137950"},"modified":"2026-08-19T13:52:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:52:05","slug":"fighting-at-croke-park-in-front-of-80000-fans-on-katie-taylors-farewell-card-is-a-dream-come-true-for-ibf-no-1-welterweight-paddy-donovan-breaking-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137950","title":{"rendered":"Fighting At Croke Park In Front Of 80,000 fans on Katie Taylor\u2019s Farewell Card Is A Dream Come True For IBF No. 1 Welterweight Paddy Donovan\ufeff &#8211; Breaking Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137950\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=137950\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-137951 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mail-7-207x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mail-7-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mail-7.jpg 526w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Coming off his successful performance in International Boxing Federation\u2019s Title Eliminator this past May in Germany, the new IBF No. 1, mandatory challenger Paddy \u201cThe Real Deal\u201d Donovan couldn\u2019t be happier or more excited to be fighting September 5th at famed Croke Park on Irish boxing icon Katie Taylor\u2019s farewell fight card, \u201cOnce Upon a Time,\u201d in Dublin.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor (25-1, 6 KOs) faces undefeated Flora Pili (12-0, 2 KOs), of France, for the Undisputed World Super Lightweight Championship, while Limerick\u2019s Donovan (15-2-1, 11 KOs) takes on Tyrone \u201cThe Mighty Celt\u201d McKenna (5-6-1, 8 KOs), of Belfast, in a 10-round match. \u201cOnce Upon a Time, \u201c which will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN, sold-out in 30-minutes.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>It also marks the first professional boxing event held at Croke Park in 54 years, since \u201cThe Greatest\u201d \u2013 Muhammad Ali \u2013 stopped Alvin Lewis in the 11th round of their heavyweight fight there. Donovan vs. McKenna is the lone scheduled All-Irish match-up on the Sept. 5th main card, the first of its kind at Croke Park in a century, since promoter Jim Rice held a pro boxing event there on July 10, 1926, which featured several All-Irish fights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am a proud Irishman and to fight in front of 80,000 people is a dream come true for me,\u201d the charismatic Donovan said. \u201cOnce this card was announced, I told Andy (Lee, Donovan\u2019s head trainer\/co-manager) and Keith (Sullivan, co-manager\/lawyer) to make it happen. Every single fighter wants to fight in front of 80,000 people, especially with Croke Park being a historical stadium for national sports, and it is a dream for me to participate and show fans around the world with 80,000 Irish fans in the stadium cheering. I\u2019m really looking forward to it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will be my third time fighting on a Katie Taylor card and it gets even more special every single time, none better than this one. Katie has led by example through the years and she\u2019s a fighter I\u2019ve looked up to. And to be a part of her last fight, here in Ireland is fitting. I can\u2019t wait for fight night!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taylor will retire after this fight, leaving a void in terms of the contemporary face of Irish boxing. An impressive victory for Donovan on Sept. 5, followed by a world title challenge, could insert Donovan into that position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKatie Taylor is one of the greatest athletes Ireland has ever had; she\u2019s the greatest female fighter of all time,\u201d a respectful Donovan added. \u201cShe has already put Irish boxing on the map. Katie has put us in the history books. How great is that to be the greatest female fighter who has ever, and to be from our small country? Katie is a national treasure to us. It\u2019s a proud moment for Katie to be fighting in front of 80,000 fans and I am so happy and grateful to get my opportunity and chance to fight on the same card. I wish her all the best, but she will be remembered in Irish folklore forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>(L-R) \u2013 Paddy Donovan &amp; Katie Taylor<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFighting on Katie&#8217;s retirement card in Croke Park before 80,000 people is exactly the kind of stage Paddy Donovan belongs on,\u201d Sullivan commented. \u201cPaddy has established himself as one of Ireland\u2019s most exciting fighters, and now he gets the opportunity to perform in front of a massive home crowd on a truly historic night. We\u2019ve always believed Paddy has the talent to become a world champion, and nights like this are another important step toward that goal. I expect Paddy to put on a spectacular performance and remind everyone why he is one of the brightest stars in Irish boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Donovan is facing a tough, experienced opponent in McKenna, who he knows, respects and isn\u2019t looking past. A former WBC Inter-Continental Champion, the battle-tested McKenna has been in tough against the likes of Jack Catterall, Roger Progais, Harlem Eubank and Paddy\u2019s archrival, Lewis Crocker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTyrone McKenna has nothing to lose in this fight,\u201d Donovan added. \u201cThis is potentially Tyrone\u2019s last fight, so he\u2019s going to give it his all fighting in front of 80,000 Irish fans. Tyrone is a proud Irishman. I\u2019m sure he\u2019s taking this fight seriously, because he\u2019s going to be in the ring with a young, very hungry, dangerous fighter. Let\u2019s enjoy the moment and put it all on the line and give the Irish fans something to really enjoy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTyrone and I have mutual respect for each other. We go way back to when I started my professional journey in 2019, when Tyrone McKenna was my sparring partner for many years while he was at the peak of his career. I helped him and he helped me along the way. He will bring a lot of experience in the ring on September 5th. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how good Tyrone can be. It\u2019s a great matchup and I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Donovan is eager to take on the elite of one of boxing\u2019s hottest divisions and its \u201cname\u201d champions, but, first, he needs to get past McKenna.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe welterweight division is a great place right now with some amazing champions. (Americans) Ryan \u201cKing Ry\u201d Garcia (WBC, 25-2, 20 KOs) for one, Devin \u201cThe Dream\u201d Haney (WBO, 33-0, 15 KOs), Rolly Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) and (Australian) Liam Paro (IBF, 28-1, 16 KOs),\u201d Donovan noted. \u201cOnce I capture the IBF title, I want to fight the best because I believe I\u2019m one of the best fighters in the world. I will fight them anywhere, anytime. I\u2019ll be ready. They will never see a storm like what is going to come their way once I capture the IBF title. I believe I can beat every single one of them. I\u2019m not worried and don\u2019t care about anyone as long as I get my opportunity to fight them. I will take those fights with both hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A cracker of a fight is on the horizon, and more happy days are certainly coming for Paddy Donovan.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Welcome To The &quot;Bad&quot; Brad Berkwitt Show\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SI1AfkBrG3I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F137950\" data-token=\"5e30d09deb9e42ec06a01622f22172ca\" data-token-time=\"1787173677\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Name or Message<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; display: inline !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; z-index: -1000 !important; padding: 0 !important; } #wpforms-126533-field_4-container input { visibility: hidden; } #wpforms-conversational-form-page #wpforms-126533-field_4-container label { counter-increment: none; }' ) );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.head.appendChild( style );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.currentScript?.remove();\n\t\t\t\t} )();\n\t\t\t<\/script><\/div><!-- .wpforms-field-container --><div class=\"wpforms-recaptcha-container wpforms-is-recaptcha wpforms-is-recaptcha-type-v2\" ><div class=\"g-recaptcha\" data-sitekey=\"6LeyxF8eAAAAALCgKefmpigcK22wWdwPbUdyB_q8\"><\/div><input type=\"text\" name=\"g-recaptcha-hidden\" class=\"wpforms-recaptcha-hidden\" style=\"position:absolute!important;clip:rect(0,0,0,0)!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border:0!important;overflow:hidden!important;padding:0!important;margin:0!important;\" data-rule-recaptcha=\"1\"><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-submit-container\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"wpforms[id]\" value=\"126533\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_title\" value=\"\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_url\" value=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137950\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"url_referer\" value=\"\"><button type=\"submit\" name=\"wpforms[submit]\" id=\"wpforms-submit-126533\" class=\"wpforms-submit\" data-alt-text=\"Sending...\" data-submit-text=\"Submit\" aria-live=\"assertive\" value=\"wpforms-submit\">Submit<\/button><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wpforms-lite\/assets\/images\/submit-spin.svg\" class=\"wpforms-submit-spinner\" style=\"display: none;\" width=\"26\" height=\"26\" alt=\"Loading\"><\/div><\/form><\/div>  <!-- .wpforms-container -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coming off his successful performance in International Boxing Federation\u2019s Title Eliminator this past May in Germany, the new IBF No. 1, mandatory challenger Paddy \u201cThe Real Deal\u201d Donovan couldn\u2019t be happier or more excited to be fighting September 5th at famed Croke Park on Irish boxing icon Katie Taylor\u2019s farewell fight card, \u201cOnce Upon a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[35701,35700],"class_list":["post-137950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-000-fans-on-katie-taylors-farewell-card-is-a-dream-come-true-for-ibf-no-1-welterweight-paddy-donovan-breaking-boxing-news","tag-fighting-at-croke-park-in-front-of-80"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137950"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/137951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}