![\"PFL](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787219781_681_WXMQAX6FXJDILC57LEORJPLJWI.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Tiernan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6ODNTL6LMFEGXCCKYKIVBL74NY.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHowever, fate had other plans for the Meath native but he took some convincing when the chance came to manage Taylor. <\/p>\n
Yes, as an Olympic Games gold medallist Taylor was already a massive star in Ireland by then but women\u2019s boxing was in its infancy in 2016. <\/p>\n
Was there a market for it? Was there a future in it? Peters admits he wasn\u2019t sure. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople say I\u2019m a smart fella but I mustn\u2019t be that smart because I turned Katie down twice,\u201d he says with a chuckle. <\/p>\n
\u201cBridget (Katie Taylor\u2019s mother) came to see me first about managing Katie and I said: \u2018Ah Bridget\u2026 I\u2019m kind of finished with boxing, I\u2019ve been there and done that and I\u2019m out now\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen Bridget and Sarah (Katie\u2019s sister) came out to me and I refused again.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Bridget and Sarah returned, this time with Katie, he changed his tune. <\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s commitment and passion was obvious and she had such belief in herself that Peters decided he had to give it a go. <\/p>\n
\u201cI worked with Ray Leonard from 2001 to 2006 and he had what I call \u2018gunfighter\u2019 eyes. Katie has them too, she is very persuasive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I said: \u2018Ok, let\u2019s go and see Eddie Hearn\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
They shook hands on their deal. There was no contract and there never has been one. Taylor delivers in the ring, Peters delivers outside it\u2026 It\u2019s a unique relationship based totally on trust. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe went into the meeting with Eddie in London and we didn\u2019t know where we were going,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know how we were going to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were 13 bouts on the bill at Wembley Arena when Taylor made her professional debut there on November 26, 2016 and the 2012 Olympic Games gold medallist was 10th on the card. <\/p>\n
There weren\u2019t many watching when she stopped Poland\u2019s Karina Szmalenberg a minute into the third of the scheduled six rounds but with Peters constantly fighting her corner and pleading with Eddie Hearn to give her more exposure, she climbed and climbed towards the bright lights. <\/p>\n
Even Peters has been surprised by how far she has come because where she is now didn\u2019t exist when she started out. <\/p>\n
Taylor, as we all know, will sign off on her wonderous career at a sold-out Croke Park on September 5.<\/p>\n
Times have changed and sport has changed but the fighter never has. <\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Katie is the greatest Irish sportsperson of all time and she is one of the greatest Irish people of all time,\u201d says Peters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never had a contract and she hasn\u2019t changed in all our years together \u2013 she is such a special person.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mountains we\u2019ve climbed!<\/p>\n
![\"Katie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/X2BNYNVQGNOQJBNKYSONDPFHQI.jpg\")
Brian Peters (right) as Katie Taylor celebrates victory over Delfine Persoon in their IBF, WBC, WBO, WBA, Ring Magazine Women’s Lightweight World Championship clash at Madison Square Garden, New York. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were getting \u00a310,000 a fight when we started out and about three fights in I was offered a sponsorship deal worth five or six hundred thousand from a betting company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t really know where we were going then, we didn\u2019t know what direction we were going but Katie wouldn\u2019t touch them. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe said \u2018no\u2019 to it and I knew she would because she wouldn\u2019t want to influence young people to gamble. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince then we\u2019ve had all kinds of offers and Katie wouldn\u2019t touch a lot of them. That\u2019s her integrity, her humility\u2026 Fame and fortune hasn\u2019t changed her one bit which is beautiful to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s boxing has changed dramatically over the last decade and that\u2019s mostly down to Taylor for her skills, box office appeal and unwavering commitment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember fighting with Sky Sports back then trying to get Katie up the card to showcase her,\u201d explains Peters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen fight two-minute rounds so it\u2019s different to men\u2019s boxing, it\u2019s a sprint. <\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Katie there were flashes of great things in women\u2019s boxing with fighters like Laila Ali and Deirdre Gogarty but there was no consistency until Katie came on the scene. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2016 Eddie wasn\u2019t that long in the job (as head of Matchroom Boxing) so times were different and it was a hard sell and hard to get good opponents. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut Katie always produced. As a wee lad I used to watch Hagler, Hearns, Duran, \u2018Sugar Ray\u2019 Leonard on the TV and I\u2019d say to myself: \u2018Imagine if I could meet those guys?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe God sent me Katie Taylor because she is a combination of the four of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor has beaten them all and won it all and after she bested rival Amanda Serrano for a third time at the top of the bill in Madison Square Garden last year she told her team that the final bell had rung, unless\u2026 <\/p>\n
There was one more box left to tick, topping the bill at the 82,000-seater theatre of Ireland\u2019s sporting dreams on Jones\u2019s Road: Croke Park. <\/p>\n
Rumours of Taylor fighting at Croke had been circulating for a few years. <\/p>\n
Meetings had been held, discussions had taken place but the prospect seemed like a distant dream. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d been trying for years to make it happen,\u201d says Peters.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Serrano III she said she\u2019d retire, it was Croke Park or nothing\u2026 So there was no pressure on me! I decided I\u2019d give it one last go.<\/p>\n
![\"Katie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WMDZ2EFJSFA3TDSVHVX4AGV7UM.jpg\")
Katie Taylor at Croke Park where she will fight IBO champion Flora Pili for the undisputed super-lightweight championship of the world on September 5. Picture: Ramsey Cardy\/Sportsfile (Ramsey Cardy \/ SPORTSFILE\/SPORTSFILE) <\/p>\n
\u201cPeter Aiken came on board, the momentum gathered, there was a swell of passion in the country, a swell of good will and Eddie was ready to really go for it. Timing is everything, you need the stars to line up and then you\u2019ve got to be ready to make the move. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter we beat Serrano in 2022 we had momentum, then we lost it big time (after defeat to Chantelle Cameron in 2023 which Taylor avenged in a rematch) and then Katie ends up with a couple of fights on Netflix, she fought on Mike Tyson\u2019s undercard\u2026 How could you even dream that was going to happen?\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Croke Park fight was eventually confirmed a press conference in a function room in the Hogan Stand was hastily convened. <\/p>\n
Peters was probably the most surprised in the stadium when he was overcome with emotion and tears flowed as he reflected on the magnitude of what was unfolding. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 30 years trying to act like a tough guy and now everyone\u2019s giving me stick after my performance but it was a great relief, it had just been so difficult,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe job was to get Eddie and Matchroom to understand the love we have for Croke Park. It\u2019s our coliseum, our cathedral… Muhammed Ali fought there and now Katie Taylor will fight there and it\u2019s going to be the greatest show on earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t even have dreamed this was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets for the fight sold out in less than half-an-hour and 25 per cent of them were priced at \u20ac40 which, in today\u2019s market, is a bargain. <\/p>\n
At Taylor\u2019s insistence there are alcohol-free, family-friendly areas and with Irish music guru Peter Aiken also on board to provide the entertainment between the contests, Peters is predicting a spectacular celebration of Irish culture on September 5. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have got a lot more average ticket price but we (himself, Aiken and Eddie Hearn) are all ok for a few quid,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney isn\u2019t the prime directive here. We\u2019re going to have people from six to 86 going to this event, we\u2019ll have people from Donegal to Dingle to Belfast\u2026 all over. <\/p>\n
\u201cCut an Irish person and they bleed GAA, they bleed Croke Park. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have fighters from nine different countries, I was in Texas recently, I had a show in India, I had a show in Brisbane, I\u2019m in Sao Paulo, Brazil later in the year\u2026 I\u2019m all over the world and everywhere I go I see county jerseys, people are proud to wear them and that wasn\u2019t always the way. <\/p>\n
\u201cIrish people want to identify with home and with the GAA and I had trouble with Eddie getting that through to him what Croke Park means to us, to fight on that sacred, hallowed turf. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I thought it would sell out quickly because of how it is priced and it\u2019s one of those \u2018Where were you when\u2026\u2019 moments, the last chance to see the legend. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a magical night and a celebration of Irish culture, arts, showbiz and sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
And of course there is a fight to win. Come hell or high water, the only thing that can possibly spoil the night is for Taylor\u2019s opponent, relatively unknown French fighter Flora Pili to shock the Dublin crowd by beating their beloved in the clash of the super-lightweight champions. <\/p>\n
\u201cPili is 11 years younger, she\u2019s undefeated and under the radar, what an opportunity for her,\u201d adds Peters. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut the key component for Katie is her experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a fitting end it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BRIAN Peters thought he was done with boxing when Katie Taylor came along. Since Wayne McCullagh had headlined…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":743923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,94087,6572,8691,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-743922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-croke-park","tag-eddie-hearn","tag-katie-taylor","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}