‘There’s a lot of aggravation and hoops to jump through.’
Eddie Hearn has spoken about two potential issues that could prevent Croke Park from staging the rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano later this year.
Taylor beat Serrano via a split decision at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, and there were immediate calls for a rematch in Ireland.
The Matchroom promotor, however, has said that there are several logistical issues around staging the rematch in Dublin.
Eddie Hearn pinpoints the political issues of hosting an Irish event.
Taylor has not fought professionally in Ireland since turning pro in 2016, with all her fights taking place in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Hearn described Taylor as “Ireland’s greatest ever sports star,” therefore, he is keen to see the Bray native fight at Croke Park. But he said there are hurdles to clear first.
“You’ve got Croke Park in Ireland and she’s never fought in Ireland, just because there’s been political problems within boxing and stuff like that,” Hearn told the MMA Hour.
“We haven’t done shows there, there hasn’t been a lot of boxing. There’s a lot of sort of aggravation and hoops to jump through. Really, she was doing so well in England and the US that we just kept on going.
“But every time we fight you see the same comments. This is Ireland’s greatest ever fighter, maybe their greatest ever sports star. How can she not fight in Ireland?”
Hearn on Croke Park’s need for a quick turnaround.
Hearn also said there that hosting an outdoor boxing event at Croke Park could be a potential weather issue and he pinpointed the first week in September as the latest date possible to stage the rematch in Dublin.
The 42-year-old said it’s “not ideal” for both fighters to enter training camp in June ahead of a September bout. However, Hearn suggested Taylor could be willing if it meant she got to fight in Ireland.
“The problem is to go to Croke Park you really have to go at the end of August, the latest first week in September is pushing it so. It’s quite a fast turnaround,” Hearn added.
“I mean, for a fight at the end of August you’ve got to start training in June. You’ve got a month, it’s not ideal. But also if it was the difference for Katie between fighting at Croke Park and not fighting at Croke Park then we’ll look at it.”
Madison Square Garden has offered to host the rematch, whilst highlighting New York City as the ideal location to attract both Irish and Puerto Rican fans to the fight.
“On the flip side, MSG come back to me and said, ‘Guys, you have to bring the rematch back here’. We’ve had a couple of calls from the Middle East.
“There’s a big movement from the Middle East right now. We did Joshua and Ruiz in Saudi Arabia, we’re talking to a number of other countries as well.”
Related links:
- “I hope she walks away” – Tony Bellew urges Katie Taylor to go out on top.
- “Let’s run it back in Ireland” – Jake Paul backs Katie Taylor’s Croke Park dream.
- Claressa Shields addresses a potential Katie Taylor super fight.
