CROKE PARK'S COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR has said he'd love to have a Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano fight in Croke Park this year but claimed that boxing promotional company Matchroom should front the security bill for the fight.
Eddie Hearn the founder of Matchroom Sport claimed on the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Hour with Ariel Helwani this week that the hosting the boxing event between Taylor and Serrano would 'cost three times more than hosting it at Wembley this year'.
The venue for the fight now seems to be heading toward the 3Arena in Dublin, which holds around 10,000 people. The rumoured date for the fight is May 20.
🥊 #TaylorSerrano2 UPDATE! @EddieHearn has confirmed on @arielhelwani’s MMA Hour that the 3 Arena will “quite possibly” be the venue for #TaylorSerrano2 providing Serrano is victorious this weekend‼️ https://t.co/4cREgpbBGk pic.twitter.com/dINXK9qCnQ
— International Boxing News (@IntBoxingNews) February 1, 2023
"The cost of hire, the cost of everything involved with the event is three times nearly more than staging it at Wembley Stadium," said Hearn. "It's unbelievable. It's so frustrating.
"It's a business. Ultimately, Katie Taylor has her financial demands for this fight. So does Amanda Serrano and we want to make sure we deliver on that.
"But we're so far out on the possibility with the cost of running that show and we're out of time in terms of delivering that date to the broadcaster so we've got to move."
Peter Mckenna speaking at the release of the GAA's annual report and financial results today rubbished that claim and said the notion that Croke Park is more expensive than Wembley was not true and that the boxing promotional company should pay for the security fee for the event
“So, our rent was coming in around €400,000. I think the rent for Wembley is about Stg£250,000-£300,000 (€281,000-€337,000). The real issue here is about security costs that which we felt the promoter should carry," said McKenna on Thursday.
“And having gone through this with statutory services and our own team, 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.”
Dublin's other major stadium had been mooted as another practical option, but unfortunately for boxing fans the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup rugby finals are on the same weekend
“It’s going to go to the 3Arena, and I think that’s a far smaller, they’ve got 9,000," he added
"They’ve done some really, really good boxing events in the past so it will suit it very well.
"There are going to be challenges that weekend, no doubt, in the city because the Heineken Cup final is on so you will be stretching the gardaí across a whole series of events.
"They are very, very good at what they do, genuinely very, very good at what they do but I mean that’s something that needs to be thought about as well.”
Serrano's next fight will be against Erika Cruz this Saturday at New York's Madison Square Garden,
A date for the fight between the Taylor and Serrano will become clearer after this, confirmed Hearn this week.
Does Croke Park really cost almost three times as much as Wembley stadium⁉️
🗣“That is not the case”
Croke Park Stadium Director Peter McKenna responds to comments made by boxing promotor @EddieHearn and @arielhelwani about the Katie Taylor fight
🗣“Our rent is market value” pic.twitter.com/Z8ApvYnL8a— Off The Ball (@offtheball) February 2, 2023
See More: Boxing, Croke Park, Eddie Hearn, Katie Taylor
