Eddie Hearn ‘tried’ to promote this weekend’s Katie Taylor topped card in BELFAST

Matchroom were close to promoting a show in Belfast for the first time in over four years, Eddie Hearn has revealed.

Hearn ran shows with Paul McCloskey, Carl Frampton and Ryan Burnett in the city over the years, but Matchroom have been missing from the capital of Irish boxing since 2017.

The now DAZN aligned promoter has batted his eyelids at Irish fight fans since and on more than one occasion suggested he was considering promoting in Antrim again.

A 2021 fight night with James Tennyson and Tommy McCarthy was the last one to reportedly be on the cards. Speaking previously Hearn suggested the time might be right for a return and said he will look at doing a show in Belfast pandemic permitting in 2021.

Defeat for both former European Champions seemed to scupper those plans although Hearn has revealed he still ‘tried’ to promote in the city before the year was out.

Hearn confirmed he attempted to go to Belfast with the Katie Taylor and Conor Benn topped card he is promoting in Liverpool this Saturday night, a bill that new Belfast signing Caoimhin Agyarko will also populate.

“I actually tried to get December 11 in Belfast because we got Katie Taylor, Caoimhin will actually go December 11 too,” Hearn said.

“Next year [we will go back to Ireland]. Katie will fight on December 11 [in Liverpool] and then we want to do the big room at Garden in April for her against Serrano if I can do a deal with Mr Jake Paul.”

Speaking on his latest Belfast signing, Agyarko, Hearn revealed he had the chance to work with the Holy Trinity schooled middle prospect previously and was upset he didn’t take it.

However, he is happy to have a ready-to-go talent on his hands now.

“Adan Booth approached me about Caoimhin about four years ago and said ‘I’ve got this kid he is unbelievably special’ but I get them phone calls 10 times a day. I just told him we haven’t got space. Then I watched him and I thought ‘fuck’ and he’s got better and better and better. When I got the phone call to say he was available we did the deal in 48 hours.”

“I joked him with saying he has got all his shit fights out of the way. Now we can go and have proper fights, how good is that.”