Allen-Carty and Donovan-McKenna added to Taylor’s Croke Park undercard

Dave Allen will face Thomas Carty and Paddy Donovan will meet Tyrone McKenna on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s final fight against Flora Pili at Croke Park on September 5.

The undercard leans heavily into Irish involvement, with heavyweight, welterweight and domestic match-ups added beneath one of the biggest Irish sporting events of the year.

Allen-Carty gives the card a heavyweight fight with immediate career stakes for both men. Allen, 26-9-2 with 20 knockouts, returned to winning ways earlier this month with a points win over Ross McGuigan in Rotherham after stoppage defeats to Filip Hrgovic at the Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster. This is set to be Allen’s second stadium fight in 2026.

The Doncaster heavyweight’s profile had been rebuilt through his two-fight series with Johnny Fisher, having avenged a controversial points defeat with a fifth-round stoppage win. He had previously announced a quick return after the Hrgovic loss, with fights on June 20 and July 26 in Doncaster, although Matchroom’s Croke Park announcement did not clarify whether the later date remains in place.

Carty (11-1-0), 30, last boxed in March, when he defeated German Skobenko on points. That win came almost a year after the Irish heavyweight suffered the only defeat of his career to date, when a severe knee injury ended his American debut against Dajuan Calloway.

The welterweight fight between Donovan and McKenna carries different pressure. Donovan, the No.1-ranked mandatory challenger for the IBF title, is in line for a shot at newly crowned champion Liam Paro. Paro recently defeated Donovan’s Northern Irish rival Lewis Crocker, and cannot afford a setback against the experienced Belfast southpaw.

Donovan earned that mandatory position by beating Karen Chukhadzhyan by majority decision in an IBF eliminator in Mannheim on May 15. Before that, he twice lost to Crocker in 2025, first at The SSE Arena in Belfast and then in a split decision at Windsor Park in September.

McKenna enters from a stoppage win over Dylan Moran in a rematch at Windsor Park on the same September 2025 bill, having previously stopped Moran in Waterford. His recent run also includes defeats to Harlem Eubank, Mohamed Mimoune and Crocker, the latter a near shut-out decision in Belfast in December 2023.

Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport chairman, said: “With so much Irish talent on the undercard, it will be a special, party atmosphere at Croke Park before 80,000 fans get behind the great Katie Taylor for her final ever fight.

“I love the Allen-Carty fight. Two experienced Heavyweights, in a make-or-break fight, out to score an almighty win. Plus, Paddy Donovan fresh from his recent heroics in Germany looks to underline his status as Ireland’s No.1 Welterweight – and underline why he is next in line to challenge for the IBF crown.”

Molly McCann, Taylor’s cousin and the former UFC fighter, also appears on the bill as she continues her professional boxing career against Yorkshire’s Sylwia Doligala. McCann is 4-0 since moving into boxing and Hearn said: “Molly McCann looked great in her recent win in Liverpool and she has a huge year ahead. But she will be over the moon to be on this card, especially with her cousin Katie Taylor headlining.”

The card also includes Taylor Bevan against unbeaten Dubliner Emmet Brennan at super-middleweight, Liverpool’s Joe McGrail against Coleraine’s Matthew Boreland for the WBA Continental Gold super-bantamweight title, and a middleweight meeting between Paul Ryan and Paddy Gallagher. Queensberry prospects Adam Olaniyan and Bobbi Flood, both from Dublin, are also scheduled to feature.

Taylor headlines in front of an expected 80,000 crowd as boxing returns to Croke Park, the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association, for the first time since Muhammad Ali fought there in 1972. Taylor will bid to become a three-time undisputed champion when she faces unbeaten French fighter Pili, with the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine super-lightweight titles on the line.