# Family Ties and Final Frontiers: Molly McCann’s Taylor-Made Inspiration Ahead of Croke Park

**By Rosa Delgado**  \nPublished September 4, 2026  \nUpdated September 4, 2026

> As Dublin prepares for its first boxing card since 1972, Molly McCann reveals her familial bond with Katie Taylor ahead of a landmark night at Croke Park.

When the doors of Vicar Street opened to reveal the undercard for Katie Taylor’s farewell show, the air buzzed with a singular, unifying word: opportunity. For decades, the prospect of staging major professional boxing in Croke Park felt entirely out of reach, shadowed by the logistical hurdles and historical gaps that followed the Regency shooting and the 1972 Muhammad Ali-Alvin "Blue" Lewis fight card. Yet, as Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn corralled the Irish boxing community to unveil the historic lineup, a sprawling narrative of redemption, domestic grudge matches, and deep familial ties took center stage.

Among the standout revelations of the afternoon was a personal connection that brings an intimate emotional layer to the 80,000-seat sellout on September 5. Former UFC star turned professional boxer Molly "Meatball" McCann, who boasts a 4-0 record with 1 knockout, disclosed that she is a cousin of the undisputed icon headlining the evening. McCann, set to face Yorkshire's Sylwia Doligala (8-2-2) as she looks to extend her unbeaten run, enters the biggest night in modern Irish sporting history carrying not just the weight of her transition from mixed martial arts to the squared circle, but the shared bloodline of the nation's greatest athletic pioneer.

Eddie Hearn noted that McCann is over the moon to feature on the card alongside her cousin, highlighting a packed undercard designed to maximize a party atmosphere before Taylor steps into the ring against unbeaten French challenger Flora Pili. With the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring Magazine super lightweight world titles on the line, Taylor aims to claim undisputed status for a third time in what she has confirmed will be the final fight of her illustrious career.

The card beneath them is a masterclass in domestic matchmaking and high-stakes redemption:

- **Heavyweight Chief Support:** Dublin's Thomas Carty faces England's Dave Allen in a make-or-break heavyweight clash. Carty is looking to reclaim momentum after a devastating ACL rupture in the second round of his American debut against Dajuan Calloway at Madison Square Garden derailed his trajectory. Meanwhile, Allen enters after a points victory over Ross McGuigan, famously admitting he is still figuring out what Croke Park actually is.

- **All-Irish Welterweight War:** Limerick southpaw Paddy Donovan (15-2, 11 KOs), the No. 1 ranked mandatory challenger for the IBF world title and trained by Andy Lee, squares off against battle-hardened Belfast native Tyrone McKenna (25-6-1, 8 KOs) in a classic clash of styles.

- **Local Glory:** Former Olympian Emmet Brennan, who grew up a mere 500 meters from Croke Park, takes on emerging super middleweight Taylor Bevan.

- **Title Action and Rising Stars:** Coleraine's unblemished Matthew Boreland meets Liverpool's Joe McGrail for the WBA continental gold title, Paul Ryan tackles Paddy Gallagher in a Dublin-Belfast middleweight showdown, and Queensberry prospects Adam Olaniyan and Bobbi Flood round out the developmental core.

All 80,000 tickets vanished in a blistering 17 minutes, prompting Hearn to explore squeezing a few hundred extra seats into the stadium. For fighters like Olaniyan—a 20-year-old heavyweight from Tallaght stepping into just his fourth pro bout on the biggest stage imaginable—the sentiment is unanimous. As Olaniyan put it, capturing the reality of a sport resurrected by a single athlete: *I am only getting this opportunity because of Katie. It is incredible what she has done for this sport.* Adam Olaniyan

For McCann, fighting on the undercard of her cousin's final walk provides an unprecedented platform to carve out her own boxing legacy. When the first bell sounds on September 5, the legacy of Irish boxing won't just be measured by belts and undisputed championships, but by the generational inspiration echoing directly from the family tree.

## Sources

- [extra.ie](https://extra.ie/2026/08/01/sport/eddie-hearn-katie-taylor-more-tickets) — original
- [irishmirror.ie](https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/other-sport/boxing/katie-taylor-croke-park-undercard-37366666) — original
- [sportsjoe.ie](https://www.sportsjoe.ie/boxing/katie-taylor-croke-park-emotion-irish-fans-357900) — original
- [evoke.ie](https://evoke.ie/2026/06/05/news/sport/katie-taylor-retirement-fight) — original