Emmet Brennan suffers stoppage loss to relentless Taylor Bevan

Emmet Brennan’s comeback following a long hiatus ended in defeat to Taylor Bevan on the Once Upon A Time card at Croke Park.

Brennan was on the canvas five times as Bevan (10-0, 9KOs) took a sixth round stoppage to maintain his flawless record, handing Brennan (6-1) a first pro loss in the process.

The super-middleweight clash was scheduled for 10 rounds, but lasted until 36 seconds of the sixth round when the relentless, hungry Bevan brought about the ending.

Bevan, showing a fondness for the body shot, took the opening verse, forcing Brennan onto the back foot.

Brennan fared better in the second, but perhaps not enough to have shaded the cards.

Coming towards the close of the third, Bevan, a highly-touted Matchroom prospect, floored Brennan with a neat left jab.

At that point, there were 20 seconds left in the round. Brennan rose, dusted himself down, but was soon on the canvas again, Bevan now sensing blood.

Brennan had been out of action for 18 months, his last fight in March 2025 when he beat Kevin Cronin at New York.

The 6-0 Dub, a 2020 Olympian who grew up on the North Strand Road, just 500 yards from Croke Park, where he is a regular follower of the Dublin footballers.

Brennan was on the floor again just as the clapper sounded for the close of the fifth.

The home fighter was assessed by the doctor before the bell rung for the start of the sixth.

As he fell for the second time in that round, the fifth time in all, the towel was coming just as the bout was being waved off by referee Padraig O’Reachtagain.

Bevan moves to 10-0 after the ninth stoppage win of the Southampton-born, Welsh-based boxer’s career.