Hearn is the promoter behind Saturday’s farewell card at Dublin’s Croke Park. In an interview with The Journal this week, the Matchroom Boxing chairman said years of hesitation over cost, security and box-office risk on a Taylor stadium show had, in hindsight, cost him.

“I’m disappointed in myself, actually, that I allowed that to happen, because maybe we could have done it earlier,” Hearn told The Journal.

He said Matchroom is now fielding hundreds of messages a day from parents wanting to bring their daughters to the fight, which he called “heartbreaking, in a way,” in the same interview.

The fight Hearn kept chasing

As recently as March, Hearn was still selling Croke Park on the show itself. “I have to deliver Croke Park, I have to. I have to find a way,” he told Boxing Social then, describing it as what would be “the greatest sporting event in the history of Ireland.” Estimated stadium costs had been reported in the €800,000 to €1.1 million range, and previous efforts to secure Irish government and Dublin authority support had not come off.

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Six months on, the market answered the question for him. Around 80,000 tickets went in a single sale that emptied the stadium after the fight was confirmed in June, with 40,000 gone in pre-sale alone.

Saturday’s card

Taylor, 40, defends her WBO, WBA, IBF and Ring super-lightweight titles against France’s Flora Pili, with the vacant WBC belt also on the line. A win would make her undisputed champion at the weight again.

“This seems like the perfect way to end it, by becoming Undisputed Champion again in our national stadium which has such a special place in Irish hearts,” Taylor said when the fight was announced.

Pili is 12-0 with two knockouts and the WBC mandatory challenger. Hearn told The Journal she is big, unbeaten and no gimme against a 40-year-old Taylor.

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The undercard includes Dave Allen against Thomas Carty at heavyweight, Paddy Donovan against Tyrone McKenna at welterweight and Molly McCann against Sylwia Doligala at super-bantamweight. The card starts at 4pm local time and Taylor’s ring walk is expected around 10pm local time, though it has not been officially confirmed. The event airs on DAZN worldwide and free-to-air on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player in Ireland.

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