My advice to Westlife tonight; don\u2019t lean on the ropes lads!<\/p>\n
No contest announced as the verdict of Thomas Carty v Dave Allen. <\/p>\n
Malachy Clerkin reports from Croke Park: \u201cThe crowd don\u2019t really know who to boo here – Allen for punching Carty in the back of the head or Carty for flailing full length out of the ring. Either way, Carty is getting oxygen and isn\u2019t coming back. He\u2019s walking down the tunnel here below us in the Hogan Stand. That was supposed to be the second biggest fight of the night and it\u2019s over after one minute and 22 seconds. The fight is declared a No Contest. The crowd boo lustily and we get on with our night.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Thomas Carty thought he\u2019d suffered a freak injury the last time then he didn\u2019t know what was in store at all today. The replay clearly shows that Allen hit Carty on the back of the head right before the Dub flew out of the ring. The crowd boo loudly at that angle. This will either be a disqualification or a no-contest. What a shame for Carty though, the biggest night of his career by miles.<\/p>\n
Allen hit Carty with a couple of rabbit punches, but hardly enough to send the big Dublin man down. He fell like a sack of spuds there and that will surely be the end of the fight, as he hasn\u2019t gotten back up. <\/p>\n
![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/JMFS2GKTWKJH6ANGG5D2WVPCUE.jpg\")
Thomas Carty puts his hands on his head after falling out of the ring in his co-main event against Dave Allen at Croke Park. Photograph: Charles McQuillan\/Getty Images <\/p>\n
Round 1: What has gone on there? Thomas Carty let off a nice combination and Allen leaned on the ropes, and when Carty followed in he tumbled through the very slack-looking ropes and right down onto ringside. I\u2019ve never seen anything like that.<\/p>\n
![\"05\/09\/2026](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/632N6QJ26VBMFG5Z4OABG2RBBA.JPG\")
05\/09\/2026 – NEWS – Dave Allen watches as Thomas Carty exits the ring through the ropes and their bout is declared a no contest on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s V Flora Pili fight, during the Croke Park homecoming.
Photograph: Alan Betson \/ The Irish Times
<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Carty, no party\u201d, and the Dublin crowd respond to the home fighter. Carty has a record of 11-1, having sustained a freak knee injury in his only loss. Meanwhile, Dave Allen has been there and done it a lot more often, with a record of 27-9-2. His belly is protruding a lot more than it was at his best, but he\u2019s still dangerous.<\/p>\n
The co-main event is about to get underway at Croke Park, as Thomas Carty faces Dave Allen in a 10-round heavyweight clash.<\/p>\n
And for anyone wondering if we might be flying through these undercard fights a little too quickly, don\u2019t forget that there\u2019ll be a special performance by Westlife on the way tonight. <\/p>\n
Next up is a heavyweight fight between Phibsboro\u2019s Thomas Carty and English fan favourite Dave Allen. Allen weighed in at nearly 280lbs yesterday, and has admitted to not quite being the most professional boxer ever in the build-up to this one. Gordon Manning reports on the back and forth between these two at the press conference earlier this week.<\/p>\n
[Before Katie Taylor\u2019s farewell, the undercard fighters get their night at Croke Park<\/a>]<\/p>\n Round 4: It\u2019s all over, as the doctor waves it off for a terrible cut on Tyrone McKenna\u2019s eye that was spraying blood all over the ringside tables. That is probably Paddy Donovan\u2019s best performance of his career, looking really patient, controlled and razor-sharp. <\/p>\n Paddy Donovan def. Tyrone McKenna by fifth round stoppage.<\/p>\n Round 3: Donovan\u2019s trainer, former middleweight champ Andy Lee, tells him in the corner that he\u2019s looking \u201csensational\u201d, and he\u2019s not wrong. His head movement looks particularly good in the third, slipping punch after punch. He\u2019s winning this with his lead right hand alone right now.<\/p>\n Limerick\u2019s former world title challenger Paddy Donovan is now boxing Belfast\u2019s Tyrone McKenna, who is probably a few years past his prime. So far McKenna has been down in round two, but survived to reach the third. <\/p>\n Emmet Brennan is making his own way out of the ring now as the final result is read out. An incredibly brave performance from the Dublin man, but he was overmatched by Bevan. Fair play to the Southampton fighter too, who kept his celebrations to a minimum while the doctors examined Brennan after the knockout blow.<\/p>\n Round 6: The doctors investigate Brennan at the start of the sixth for a peculiarly long time, but he\u2019s down from a body shot again as soon as it\u2019s back on. The referee somehow decides to let it go again, and Bevan flattens him with a big left hook. That fight should have been stopped before that last punch.<\/p>\n Taylor Bevan def. Emmet Brennan by sixth round stoppage.<\/p>\n Brennan down for the third time at the end of the fifth from a lovely left hook to the body. He\u2019s back up now and on the stool preparing for the sixth round.<\/p>\n Round 5: Fair play to Brennan, who not only survived but had a couple of good moments in the fourth. Still, he\u2019ll have to go looking for only his second ever knockout if he wants a win. <\/p>\n Round 3: Emmet Brennan goes down heavily on a left hook from Taylor Bevan in the third round. He tries to get inside and smother the follow-up, but he\u2019s caught and go down again. The bell saves him for this round, but it\u2019s hard to imagine him surviving the fourth.<\/p>\n Two rounds into Brennan-Bevan, and the English fighter is getting the better of it so far. Brennan has a noticeable bit of reddening around the ribs, but has also had some success with his left hook upstairs. Eight rounds to go anyways.<\/p>\n Donald McRae charts his connection with Katie Taylor through the years, from her amateur days all the way through to the present day finale.<\/p>\n [Katie Taylor: An emotional last night for a quietly defiant pioneer<\/a>]<\/p>\n Emmet Brennan, who grew up just around the corner from Croke Park, leads off the action on the main card tonight. The 6-0 super-middleweight and former Olympian makes his way to the ring to face the much-fancied Taylor Bevan, himself boasting a 9-0 record.<\/p>\n Although Katie Taylor is exiting the stage after tonight, there\u2019s no doubt that her effect on sports in Ireland will be long-lasting. James Cox reports on the legacy of a pioneering fighter.<\/p>\n![\"Local](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5WU25QHXAAB3273KI22L76XYRU.jpg\")
Local boy Emmet Brennan makes his way to the ring for his fight with Taylor Bevan. Photograph: Gary Carr\/Inpho <\/p>\n