Katie Taylor to fight Ronda Rousey? Could Irish star delay retirement for crossover bout against former UFC champion

Katie Taylor will only be lured back to boxing by "something very special" and there is a "good chance" she might enter retirement, says promoter Eddie Hearn.

Taylor, 39, has hinted at retiring from the sport in 2026 but has also suggested she could be tempted into a sensational crossover bout against former UFC champion Ronda Rousey.

Taylor was last in action in July, when she beat Amanda Serrano for a third time in Madison Square Garden, while Rousey has not fought since 2016 when she was beaten by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. The American then moved into WWE before her departure in 2023.

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The loss to Nunes came immediately after a shock defeat to Holly Holm, who ended her undefeated run of 12 fights, in 2015.

Hearn, however, is sceptical. "Katie Taylor against Ronda Rousey. I don't really see the legs in it, if I'm honest," he told Sky Sports.

"I don't think it's really that competitive. But again, in the world that we live in, you know, AJ [Anthony Joshua] against Jake Paul wasn't really that competitive, and it did extremely well."

Joshua inflicted a sixth-round knockout on Jake Paul when he went up against the YouTube star in December, a fight that was watched by 33 million viewers globally on Netflix.

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"When we talk about fighting again, Katie has got to make her decision," Hearn added.

"Will she fight again? There is probably a good chance she might not. There's also a chance she might, but she's done so much.

"I think it's going to take something very special to make her fight again."