Former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton believes Katie Taylor should secure a Croke Park rematch against Amanda Serrano next and then retire.
In her homecoming fight at the 3Arena on Saturday night, Taylor lost for the first time since turning professional having stepped up in weight class to challenge undisputed light-welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron.
Taylor remains the undisputed lightweight champion but the question for the 36-year-old is how to plot the immediate future.
A rematch against Cameron is one option that she has indicated being very much open to but Frampton, who was ringside in Dublin, believes Taylor's next - and final - fight should be a rematch at Croke Park later this year against Amanda Serrano who she defeated in an epic encounter at Madison Square Garden last year.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport's Siobhan Madigan, the Belfast native said: "Katie Taylor's not the youngest in the world anymore and you can't be in this game all your days. What I would do, forget about the rematch, she's still the lightweight champion. Fight Serrano at Croke Park in September, beat Serrano and that's it, call it a day and that's the swansong for her. That's the one, that's the way to do it.
Frampton said the outcome of Taylor's fight against Cameron was "bittersweet" for him because he knew both fighters well but credited the Bray boxer for having the guts to step up in weight class against a high quality opponent.
"Even Katie taking this fight, going up to the 140 to fight the champion (and) not at a catchweight," he said.
"I imagine her team were probably saying, because if I were in her team, 'Let's get her down to 137 or 138 at least'.
"I just imagine the character and personality of Katie, she didn't want to entertain it and she wanted it to be at 140, which is probably fair and the right thing to do.
"But I think Chantelle's strength was probably the key to her win tonight."
He also praised Taylor for making it a closer battle as the fight wore on after Cameron had dominated the early exchanges.
"After two or three rounds, I was definitely thinking Chantelle is going to run away with it here but Katie dug in and took a wee bit of inspiration from the crowd and the atmosphere to dig in and win a couple of rounds in the middle," he said.
"She came close and I score it the same as the other two judges that scored it 96-94. That's how I had it.
"I think it was a fair result but again, I can't give enough credit to both for what they've done. The fight that they put on, and for Katie, even taking that fight, she didn't have to do it. The (Amanda) Serrano fight was there."
