Eddie Hearn has issued a promising update on a Croke Park fight for champion boxer Katie Taylor.
Fans have long called for the Bray native to have a homecoming bout in Ireland’s most iconic stadium, but organisers have previously said its too expensive to hire.
Last year, Katie’s promotor Eddie Hearn claimed hosting a fight at Croker would be almost “three times” more than staging it at Wembley Stadium in the UK.
Katie fought both Amanda Serrano and Chantelle Cameron in Dublin last year, but both events took place at the 3Arena.
In contrast, the 3Arena will only accommodate around 9,000 spectators, while Croke Park can host over 70,000.
Amid calls for Katie to fight Cameron for the third time in another rematch, Eddie has confirmed fresh talks with Croker bosses are underway.
Speaking on the MMAHour podcast, the Matchroom chief said: “We’ve been in conversations with [Croke Park]. I think they are moving in the right direction.”
“I think that’s a good thing to say without getting too excited. We are going to speak to Chantelle Cameron’s team,” he continued.
“Obviously, Amanda Serrano fights March 2nd on DAZN. Chantelle Cameron. I think, is the fight Katie would like.
“I think it is the fight fans would like. 1-1. Two tremendous fights so we will see if we can get it made. I think it is the right fight for both.
“We have still got a deal to be done but we will be doing everything we can to see if we can make Taylor/Cameron at Croke Park,” he added.
After beating Cameron at the 3Arena in November, Katie expressed her desire for her next fight to take place at Croke Park.
“It was the longest six months in my life waiting for this rematch. This is my real homecoming tonight. You saw the worst of me in May. You saw the best of me tonight. Let’s get the trilogy in Croke Park,” she said.
“It takes two to tango and Chantelle is a phenomenal fighter and a phenomenal champion, she deserves everything that she gets. To have a trilogy would be a great respect for both of us. I think that is exactly what we both want.
“She is a legend herself. Two legends of the ring fighting again for the trilogy. I don’t think there’s ever been a trilogy in women’s boxing. This could be the first.”
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If a fight at Croke Park goes ahead, it would be the biggest event in women’s boxing history.
Speaking at the launch of the GAA’s annual report and financial result last year, Croke Park commercial director Peter McKenna said they would love to host a Katie Taylor fight at the stadium.
“The last time we talked to them properly was before Christmas. Our rent was coming in around €400k. I think the rent for Wembley is about £250k/300k (€280-355k). We are not colossally more expensive than Wembley,” he said.
“The real issue here is about security costs, which we felt the promoter should carry. I think the surprise was that our focus on security and attention to detail was far more than they would have expected in a Wembley scenario or Bethnal Green scenario.”
He explained: “You’re talking about bringing 60-70,000 people into a stadium for a fight that’s late in the evening with quite a bit of alcohol taken.”
“We looked at the risk analysis on the event and we felt that the amount of security that you’d need would be at the top level and that is not inexpensive.”
“So I think maybe there’s a worry there they wouldn’t quite get the attendance and also the costs associated with hosting an event at a certain standard, that we would be very proud that we would hold to, has caused a little bit of jitters.”
“The costs quoted are far less than we’d normally charge because we would have loved to have had Katie Taylor. The eyes of the world would be on us.”
