THE IRISH Government have said the possiblity of Katie Taylor fighting in Croke Park later this year isn't dead in the water as long as it doesn't clash with other sporting events at the time.
The date for Taylor's fight against Amanda Serrano has been pencilled in for May 20 in the 3Arena, but there had been moves to get it to Croke Park instead. That move is dead in the water for now.
After a standstill between the promoter (Eddie Hearn) and the GAA over security costs, the fight is almost certainly going to be held on Dublin's docklands.
Another reason for the the switch is that the Heineken Cup final will be held at the Aviva Stadium the same weekend that she is expected to fight the Puerto Rican.
The Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne explained on Tuesday that a date other than the May 20th allocation could be looked at if another submission was to be put in for it,
Byrne said, “If anyone wants to put in submissions in relation to any other time or venue, we'll obviously look at it.
"But any funding we give to major events - and we do give funding to major events – there is a cost-benefit analysis to be done in terms of possible benefits to the tourism economy and wider participation to the community.
"We have obviously approved some in recent years - and the Government has decided not to approve other ones where that cost-benefit doesn’t stack up.
THE government remains open to providing funds to enable world boxing champion Katie Taylor fight in Croke Park later this year, according to Sports Minister Thomas Byrne. https://t.co/TWEVfeJRf4
— Independent Sport (@IndoSport) February 14, 2023
"In this instance, that one isn’t going ahead on May 20, but we would love Katie Taylor to be fighting in Croke Park," he went onto add.
"If the promoters or managers want to come back with proposals…I met (Taylor's manager) Brian Peters and his colleagues after Christmas and they did put in proposals after, but it’s not happening now so it’s not an issue at the moment.
"What we have said in public is what we said to Katie’s manager (Peters) – and I never met Eddie Hearn – is that May 20th, because the rugby Heineken Cup (final) is on in Dublin, it seemed to us straight off that that would be hard to justify from a tourism point of view, and that if you said November – and I’m not saying November – it is obviously easier to make in terms of a tourism case.
"Now, that doesn’t commit us to a certain date but just to illustrate.
"So, if they came to us with another proposal, of course we would look at it out of respect to Katie Taylor but, again, with all these proposals, there is a high threshold to cross.”
Hearn, Taylor's promoter speaking to RTE Sport also added that a fight in a stadium would happen after the fight with Serrano ends.
"I do think it's realistic for us that 20 May will be in the 3Arena. But I do think that a stadium fight will follow suit."
"I'm not prepared to let it slip again. She must fight in Ireland on 20 May," added the promoter on Monday.
"But we want to work together to see how we can make it happen in a big stadium as well.
"All of Katie's fights now will be versus undisputed champions and hopefully we can finish her career, however many fights that may be, in Ireland.
"I don't see the need to go anywhere else."
See More: Boxing, Eddie Hearn, Katie Taylor
