Eddie Hearn considering Irish stadium fight for Katie Taylor
A Katie Taylor [9(4)-0] homecoming has been promised ever since the amateur legend turned pro and the unified lightweight world champion is still waiting.
First it was to be in late 2017, then in April of this year, then perhaps September, and was recently ruled out for the foreseeable.
One constant thread in all the talk was that the homecoming would take place in Dublin’s 3Arena.
However, Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that he is considering something bigger.
The Matchroom boss has stated that he is looking into a stadium fight for the Wicklow star – in Cork!
Hearn was engaged in a Twitter Q&A recently and the topic of a stadium show in Ireland was put to him – and the fight boss said that he “was talking about Katie Taylor in Cork the other day.”
The Essex promoter did not divulge any further details but it is assumed that he is referring to the recently renovated Páirc Uí Chaoimh GAA ground – with Turners Cross, Páirc Uí Rinn, Musgrave Park, and the Mardyke looking to be too small.
The stadium, just east of the city in Ballintemple, has 21,000 seats and 24,000 worth of terrace space. The capacity for a boxing event, with seating on the pitch and what not, is unknown.
Earlier this month, pop star Ed Sheeran played three 40,000 gigs at the venue.
Páirc Uí Chaoimh has a special place in Irish boxing history, being the scene of Steve Collins’s WBO super middleweight title rematch win over Chris Eubank in 1995.
That night was the only pro boxing to take place in Cork throughout the 1990s – with the previous card taking place in 1985 and then nothing since the 1960s.
The Rebel County enjoyed a resurgence in the late 2000s with cards run by Packie Collins, Taylor’s manager Brian Peters, and Gary Hyde.
Taylor is currently ticking over following her world title unification win over Victoria Noelia Bustos last month in which she added the IBF lightweight title to the WBA belt around her waist.
The Bray star is expected to return to the ring in either July in London against WBO champ Rose Volante or in America in September versus Holly Holm or Heather Hardy on the inaugural Matchroom DAZN show.
Any Cork fight would most likely not take place until next Summer.
