Asked how she used her $1m (£860,000) prize money after her victory over Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden, Katie Taylor laughed and said she’s “not a big spender”.
The 36-year-old is aiming to keep her feet firmly planted in the ring as she prepares to face Argentina’s Karen Elizabeth Carabajal on Saturday in the less auspicious surrounds of Wembley Arena.
It is a step down in venue for Taylor after the biggest win of her professional career in New York in April, and on paper it is a bout the reigning undisputed lightweight champion is expected to win comfortably.
However, afterwards she has her eyes on what could be her crowning fight – boxing in her home nation of the Republic of Ireland for the first time in her professional career.
Taylor is eyeing a rematch with Serrano in front of 80,000 fans at Dublin’s Croke Park – and firmly believes it can happen.
She told BBC Sport: “I obviously can’t control what she [Serrano] does; there are lots of big fights out there for me. What I want is to headline a fight in Ireland.
“In six years as a professional, I’ve never headlined a fight in Ireland. That would be huge, and against Serrano would be good. But there’s no shortage of big names out there.”
‘The politics are all behind us now’
Issues outside the ring have prevented Taylor from making a homecoming.
The Irish government has refused to sanction pro events in the country ever since a fatal shooting at a boxing weigh-in at the Dublin Regency Hotel in 2016.
Irishman Daniel Kinahan, who founded a company that would become a boxing management and promoters’ company called MTK Global, has also been sanctioned by the US government over allegations he is a leading member of the Kinahan organised crime group.
In April, it was announced that MTK would cease operations because of the intense scrutiny they have faced since Kinahan was sanctioned – leaving the door open for Taylor to return home.
“It’s definitely realistic,” she said about the prospect of fighting in Dublin. “We were in talks with Croke Park. To fight there in front of 80,000 people would be the biggest event in the history of women’s boxing.
“That would be great, and it is a very realistic goal for some time next year.
“The politics are all behind us now. It’s unfortunate because we wanted the Serrano rematch straight away.”
Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn also confirmed there had been positive talks with Irish officials about staging a fight in Ireland.
“We had a lot of conversations at the back end of last summer to prepare to go there,” he said. “A lot of those conversations were with Croke Park and the government – they’re ready.
“If there’s a time for Ireland to return to boxing, Katie Taylor is the one to do it.”
There is plenty Taylor still wants to do in her career, having come to wider public attention a decade ago by winning one of the inaugural women’s boxing gold medals at the London Olympics in 2012.
Retirement is a long way from her mind.
“Vegas is one of the big things, it’s the mecca of boxing, I’ve always wanted to fight out there,” she said.
“More important is that I want to be involved in the biggest fights. At the moment, I still feel people haven’t seen the best of me yet.
“I don’t like putting limits on myself, I just take it fight by fight, year by year. Right now I feel fantastic and I still love my sport. I still love getting up early in the morning, I still love the sparring sessions. As I long as I still have that, I will still be wanting more.”
‘Female fighters are the biggest household names’
Taylor also said she would happily move from lightweight for the right fight – although a fan’s dream match against Claressa Shields, who has fought at middleweight, light-middleweight and super-middleweight, would be a long shot.
She is a huge admirer of Shields and called her victory over Savannah Marshall an “iconic fight” – but swerved the GWOAT debate.
“I don’t really take much notice of what people are saying in that conversation about the greatest women of all time,” she said. “She’s doing her thing, I’m doing mine.
“To see so many people actually talking about women’s boxing is amazing. For the first time in many, many years, female fighters are the biggest household names.
“But I’m here to say who the best is.”
Taylor may want the Serrano rematch, but first she has to overcome Carabajal, the mandatory challenger for her belts with a 19-0 record.
She refused to make a forecast for the fight – or to reveal what the purse is following her $1m pay day – but has no plans to lose her status as undisputed number one
“I’m not really one for predictions, but it’s going to be a fantastic fight, promises to be a great contest. Just as long as I keep those belts, remaining unbeaten is the main thing,” she said.
Win, and a historic homecoming may be on the cards. Just do not expect her to splash out on the celebration.
