Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury eyed for showdown at iconic Irish stadium alongside Katie Taylor retirement fight

Croke Park’s chief executive is hoping to stage the long-awaited all-British showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in Dublin.

The 80,000-seater stadium, which is home to the Gaelic Games, has not hosted a boxing event since 1972, when Muhammad Ali halted Alvin Williams inside 11 rounds.

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Irish boxing legend Katie Taylor has been campaigning for a fight at the iconic venue for several years, and those pleas have become louder as she approaches her final bow this summer.

There are a multitude of reasons behind the 54-year absence of boxing at Croke Park, but the biggest stumbling block more recently has been the hefty upfront security costs.

Taylor’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, revealed back in 2023 that the staggering operational and security expenses meant it would cost £1million to stage a fight at Croke Park than Wembley Stadium.

However, Croke Park’s Peter McKenna believes the inclusion of Fury and Joshua on the bill would help Taylor get her fairytale ending at the headquarters of the GAA.

“The real hope is that we will get Tyson Fury here later on in the year,” McKenna told the BBC.

“That would be such a world-billing event that we would be able to facilitate a Katie Taylor fight here.

“A lot of stars need to align. Katie’s manager needs to agree, Katie’s promoter needs to agree, Tyson Fury’s promoter needs to agree.

“I am very confident that all three are coming to the sense that this is one of Ireland’s greatest sporting athletes, and it would be such a ‘wow’ to have her here and for her to finish her career here.”

The BBC is reporting that talks are underway to stage the mega event this summer and that it will be facilitated by the financial backing of Saudi boxing mogul Turki Alalshikh.

But for Fury to finally get his hands on Joshua, he will have to overcome Arslanbek Makhmudov first.

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Fury is set to meet the Russian slugger at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night in his first fight in 16 months.

‘The Gypsy King’ hung up his gloves in January last year after suffering back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

However, he has since reversed his retirement and welcomes a much-anticipated bout with AJ with open arms.

He said: “I’ve got Arslanbek Makhmudov to think of on Saturday night, but all going well [Joshua is] the fight I want next.

“I know he just had his fight with Jake Paul, whatever, a fight’s a fight really.

“Yeah, I’ll be ready for that straight away after this.”

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Joshua last fought in December when he knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.

He was expected to return in early 2026, but those plans were put on hold after he was involved in a tragic car accident in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.

He has since returned to training with the view of returning to the ring in the second half of the year.

Boxing schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s  boxing schedule.