It seems as though both Katie Taylor and her promoter, Eddie Hearn, will be disappointed in their pursuit of holding the Bray fighter’s next bout inside the traditional home of Irish sport.
Taylor is expected to once again take on England’s Chantelle Cameron in the coming months after the two went 1-1 in prior bouts hosted inside Dublin’s 3Arena. However Taylor, one of Ireland’s most successful sports stars, has long stated her desire to compete inside the 80,000 capacity Croke Park — but despite holding talks with the stadium’s proprietors, Hearn says that it doesn’t appear as if a deal with be struck.
“We’re considering a number of venues in Ireland but it’s unlikely to be Croke Park,” he said to the BBC.
It had previously been reported that large costs associated with the venue have been a stumbling block to the potential deal, with Hearn saying last year the finances would significantly be in excess of even London’s Wembley Stadium.
However, the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said on Wednesday that it had not received any official applications to host a boxing match. “It is worth noting that a range of considerations are taken into account by the Department whenever it is asked to provide financial support to a major sports event,” it said in a statement.
“They understood the magnitude of the event and it’s something which is very important to Katie Taylor,” Hearn told BBC Sport on Thursday.
“But it’s the issue of aligning TV dates and trying to get it right. We’re certainly looking to make sure her next fight is in Ireland and that will be announced in the next couple of weeks.”
An opponent for Taylor has not yet been confirmed. A rubber-match with Cameron appears the most likely possibility but Amanda Serrano, whom Taylor defeated in Madison Square Garden nearly two years ago, also remains an option.
“The Serrano fight is still a fight which definitely works, but the first two fights with Cameron were two fight of the year contenders and I think the focus is definitely on the trilogy,” Hearn said. “The latest would be early June but, in an ideal world, we’d like that to take place in May.”
