Katie Taylor hasn’t ‘Given Up’ on Croke Park
Katie Taylor has not ‘given up’ on Croke Park.
For now, the focus is on a huge night in the 3Arena and a massive fight with Chantelle Cameron. However, the Irish Icon is hoping to become only the second fighter to top a fight card on Jones’ Road – a certain Muhammad Ali being the first.
Talk of a massive Croke Park Taylor-topped fight night has been doing the rounds since April of 2021. A September 2021 rematch with Amanda Serrano was initially muted, only for the Puerto Rican to press pause on any return in favour of exploring her featherweight options.
However, hope a Taylor headlined stadium fight on home soil reached record highs at the start of this year, as Serrano agreed to rematch the greatest women’s fight of all time in Dublin on May 20. That fight was destined for GAA headquarters, up and until a row over price saw the fight moved to the 3Arena.
Injury then forced Serrano out of the fight and Taylor will now face undisputed light welterweight champion Cameron for her titles at the venue formerly known as The Point net week.
However, Taylor would still love to headline at the famous ground.
Speaking to media from her training base in America on Wednesday, Taylor said she “definitely hadn’t given up” on a Croke Park fight.
“I would absolutely love the opportunity to fight in Croke Park, our most iconic stadium. But these things are genuinely outside my control,” she said.
Speaking previously the Bray native was keen to point out the fight and the occasion didn’t need a Croke Park backdrop.
“I think the venue controversy has probably clouded two bigger good news stories, the fact pro boxing is coming back to Ireland for the first time in a long time and secondly this is another huge milestone for female boxing,” Taylor told Irish-boxing.com.
“It was only a few years ago I was headlining York Hall and wondering if we were going to sell out York Hall and now we are talking about the 3Arena being too small. That in itself is remarkable and amazing progress and I’m very very proud of that. Women’s boxing has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years and I’m very very proud.”
One of the people who does have a degree of control over a potential Croke Park play is Eddie Hearn. The Matchroom boss’ upset with the GAA is obvious but he admits he would be open to trying to work with them again.
“When you are going to negotiate with someone and the cost is three times more than Wembley Stadium… To be honest with you, I think it takes the absolute p*ss. For a stadium… We have done national stadiums, we have done 90,000, 80,000. Numbers are numbers and for three times the cost of running a show there it just left a little bit of bad taste but that is our problem, not Katie’s problems. “
The Matchroom boss won’t bite his nose off to spite his face and says he will consider revisiting Croke Park again in the future.
“She wanted to fight at Croke Park and we will work to make that happen but what I am not prepared to do is be involved in a fight of that magnitude, with a huge amount of risk and work, for nothing for our family business.”
