Hearn 'doing everything' to ensure Taylor Croke bout

 

Eddie Hearn says he will do "everything I can" to ensure Katie Taylor's next fight is at Croke Park and thinks Irish Government support can make it happen.

Taylor avenged her only professional defeat by beating Britain's Chantelle Cameron at Dublin's 3Arena on Saturday.

Hearn's previous hopes of putting on a Taylor fight at Croke Park have been dashed but he remains optimistic.

"It's my ambition to take Katie Taylor's next fight to Croke Park," said the Matchroom boss.

The promoter has previously blamed the security cost requirements of Croke Park's owners, the Gaelic Athletic Association, for his inability to fulfil Taylor's ambition of fighting at the 80,000-capacity stadium.

"There are other stadiums but Croke Park is the one she's always talked about and it's the one that probably creates the most history," Hearn told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.

Irish Government supports other sports–Hearn

The promoter added that he feels "driven to deliver it for what I feel is Ireland's greatest ever athlete" and believes the Irish authorities, who have financially supported many major sporting events in the past, could help make a Taylor Croke Park contest a reality.

"That involves Katie. That involves Irish fans. That involves the government. And that involves us putting together a strategic plan for the government and the tourism agencies to show them the benefit of such an event," he added.

"It [financial support] is available for a lot of sports but historically not boxing but we just want a parity of costs with other major stadiums.

"We know we can get that at Aviva [Stadium]. We know we can get that at Wembley Stadium or Dallas Cowboys or wherever we promote shows globally. 

"It's just that the cost associated with Croke Park doesn't enable us to give the fighters what they deserve and that's the most important thing.

"And also to produce a card from top to bottom that will help us create history for Irish boxing."

Hearn added that Saturday night's venue, the 3Arena, and the Aviva Stadium remain real options for future Taylor bouts but insisted that a Croke Park fight for the Irish star would represent "something extraordinary".

"Through that victory [on Saturday], she deserves something more. What else can we do?" he said.

"The thing is with the 3Arena [9,000 capacity] that the tickets are expensive. When we go to Croke Park, it becomes so much more accessible for people. More importantly for kids, for families, for generations."

"Win or go home for Conlan'–Hearn

Hearn was speaking in advance of Saturday's Matchroom bill in Belfast which will be headlined by Michael Conlan's super-featherweight contest with England's Jordan Gill.

The Matchroom boss said that it will be a must-win contest for the 32-year-old Belfastman after world-title defeats by Leigh Wood and Luis Alberto Lopez over the past 20 months.

Since being knocked out by Lopez in May, Conlan has parted company with previous trainer Adam Booth and promoters Top Rank to link up with Florida-based Pedro Diaz in addition to agreeing a deal with Matchroom to promote Saturday's contest.

"Obviously for Michael Conlan, it's absolutely win or go home," added Hearn.

"The potential [for him] is to have a big fight with Joe Cordina or a Leigh Wood rematch or to challenge for a world title again at 130 pounds so he's going to do everything he can to get the victory on Saturday.

"We've got plans for a couple of fights. I've seen him first hand. The Leigh Wood-Michael Conlan fight was one of the most spectacular nights I've ever seen.

"We've seen him fill stadiums in New York. We know the drawing power of him in Belfast so an impressive win, a statement victory, would really build that momentum to come back to Belfast in the spring/summer."

As was the case in Dublin last weekend, Conor McGregor's business arm is backing the Belfast show and Hearn defended his links with the Irish mixed martial arts star amid criticism of the Dubliner for social media comments he made in the wake of last week's riots in his native city.

As the disturbances unfolded last Thursday, in a series of messages on X, formerly known as Twitter, McGregor claimed "Ireland is at war" and later also spoke of "our lax border" although he subsequently insisted that he did condone the riots.

"It was difficult for us last week because it was a very sensitive time for Ireland and he's got his opinions and made comments," said Hearn.

"I understand the questioning to us but when I'm asked to explain his comments, I don't understand those questions because one, I don't fully understand the situation coming to Ireland and two, it's not my responsibility to explain Conor McGregor's comments.

"I've met him once and what I will say is that some brands he's involved with have been a massive help to help us bring boxing back to Ireland. They have been supporting fighters.

"He's been a massive supporter of Katie Taylor. He's been helping us to get that momentum back in Ireland so for that, we thank him."

BY BBC SPORTS