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Croke Park. Morgan Treacy/INPHO

'It takes the absolute piss' - Eddie Hearn on Croke Park costs for Taylor fight

The promoter defended Matchroom’s approach ahead of Taylor’s fight at the 3Arena on 20 May.

EDDIE HEARN HAS not ruled out a future Katie Taylor fight in Croke Park but admits the costs for the original bout at GAA HQ have left a bad taste.

Taylor was set to take on Amanda Serrano at the venue in May, a repeat of last year’s New York fight between the pair.

But the plans fell through and Taylor’s homecoming will now take place at the 3 Arena on 20 May, with Chantelle Cameron in the opposition corner.

The Matchroom promoter reiterated yesterday in Dublin that the costs for a Croke Park fight were three times that required for a similar event at Wembley.

Croke Park chief Peter McKenna insisted last month that the issue was over security costs.

“When you are going to negotiate with someone and the cost is three times more than Wembley Stadium…To be honest with you, I think it takes the absolute piss. We have done national stadiums, we have done 90,000, 80,000.

“Numbers are numbers and for three times the cost of running a show there it just left a little bit of bad taste but that is our problem, not Katie’s problem. She wanted to fight at Croke Park and we will work to make that happen, but what I am not prepared to do is be involved in a fight of that magnitude, with a huge amount of risk and work, for nothing for our family business.”

katie-taylor Katie Taylor. Gary Carr / INPHO Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO

Hearn rejected suggestions that Matchroom were not financially committed to a Croke Park fight and they should have pressed ahead with it as they would have broken even

“If you look at the success of the business that’s why it is successful: because it makes the right commercial decisions. For me, you don’t go into a show of that magnitude to lose a lot of money. And just like Katie Taylor, we will make sure that she gets the right deal when she fights. It’s the same for any business.

“I’m not prepared to do a fight of that magnitude after all the investment in Katie to break even on a show that might sell out. That’s very brave of you to play with my money but that’s how I’ve been taught. I wouldn’t say to Katie Taylor that, ‘Oh, the numbers don’t really work out so you need to take a pay cut to make this happen’. Business doesn’t work like that.”

eddie-hearn Eddie Hearn. Gary Carr / INPHO Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO

Hearn is enthused at the prospect of the fight against Cameron but is conscious that demand for tickets amongst fans will outweigh supply.

“We are, unfortunately, leaving money behind by going to the 3Arena because it holds 8,000 v 70,000 at Croker.

“There was other options outside but obviously there’s a rugby match there as well. I don’t think it’s the last time Katie will fight in Ireland.

“I think the 3Arena is perfect but we’re going to have a problem next week when the tickets go on sale because we’re going to have a lot of upset people, I have it all the time when a show sells out.

“We’ve asked not to resell tickets and I don’t think you’ll get a great deal of that because people are just obsessed with going to witness this historic night. So we’re going to have a problem next week with demand.

“I think it’s all worked out pretty well considering. We really wanted to go to Croke Park for Serrano.

“This fight, for me, is the bigger fight in boxing. For many years, people have said to me, ‘Katie will never fight Cameron’ and I say, ‘100% she will’. And then as Chantelle became a bigger name, as she became unified and then undisputed champion, I knew it was going to happen.

“I think it surprised a lot of people that it’s happening, when I said, ‘She is up for fighting her’. It was when the timing was right.”

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    Mute Paul Mallon
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    Mar 21st 2023, 10:02 AM

    Eddie’s just disappointed his profits are taking a hit.

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    Mute Brian Dunne
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    Mar 21st 2023, 10:22 AM

    @Paul Mallon: he is a business man in all fairness.

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    Mute P M
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    Mar 21st 2023, 10:46 AM

    Weird that music promotors seem to make plenty of money all the time in Croker, Hearn just chancing his arm looking to make more money. Ringside tickets will cost a few hundred minimum so he would stand to make more than any music concert plus he would be able to have Hill 16 open which you wouldn’t get at a gig.

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    Mute Tom Quinlan
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    Mar 21st 2023, 9:45 AM

    Because the GAA are trying to milk it. Hearn can’t milk it. As he says himself that’s business

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    Mute Niall Stone
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    Mar 21st 2023, 10:13 AM

    So it’s gone from twice as expensive to three times as expensive. Negotiations are going well.
    So we have CP at a risky 80K and his option at 8K. Has he looked outside of these options, that’s all we have here 8K or 80K. What about 50K at the Aviva? 45K at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
    There are more options in Ireland between 8 and 80K capacity.

    I think this man just wants PPV, and or to get KT a fight, any fight at home. I don’t imagine it’s what she really imagined or deserved but it looks like he’d rather blame CP than list some other options.

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    Mute baz dunne
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    Mar 21st 2023, 12:24 PM

    @Niall Stone: Aviva will be hosting the Heineken cup final that evening so that’s a non starter.

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    Mute Niall Stone
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    Mar 22nd 2023, 2:20 AM

    @baz dunne: Point is there must be other options. He switched a fighter, switch the date

    As he says it is a risk as it’s a less attractive fight now. Would this fight attract 80K? His second fight option would be less likely to attract a full house and he knows it, cold feet.

    Steve Collins got good crowds in Cork, or select a different night.

    In my opinion, he wants to go for safe PPV money, minimally meet KTs desire to fight in Ireland, hold the Amanda Serrano fight somewhere else all the while blaming the GAA. He could do more, be proactive rather than keep churning out the same sad story about CP.
    He’s like a guy arguing with a bouncer to get into a nightclub, move on, go somewhere else.

    8K tickets for KTs home match is underwhelming. She deserves more, he’s her agent not the GAA.

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    Mute baz dunne
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    Mar 21st 2023, 9:36 AM

    No doubt he’s right, The grab all association were always going to try and milk this for all its worth and more.

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    Mute Gerry Campbell
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    Mar 21st 2023, 10:55 AM

    @baz dunne: Ah here,I’m not beyond having a go at the GAA,but Eddie Hearne,please…The GAA were dead right and its up the price should go,bye Eddie don’t let the door hit you in the Arse.

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    Mute baz dunne
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    Mar 21st 2023, 12:22 PM

    @Gerry Campbell: In fairness you’re not wrong. There’s the pair of them in it.

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    Mute mcr
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    Mar 21st 2023, 2:14 PM

    @baz dunne: was wondering how long before some anti gaa gobdaw would come up with the ‘grab all association’ line… When has no knowledge of numbers involved. All we need now is a brilliant original Father Ted line…

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    Mute Lad
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    Mar 21st 2023, 4:06 PM

    @baz dunne: he didn’t say the pair of them were at it..

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    Mute Zim Zimma
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    Mar 21st 2023, 10:21 AM

    As much as I don’t like Hearn I have no doubt he’s telling the truth. As my Granda used to say and the older I’ve got the more I’ve seen the truth in it in politics, institutions and pretty much every facet of life, he said, Ireland will never get anywhere, because it is a nation run by gombeen men, they’d sell their own mothers if you offered them the right price, but if you were dying of thirst they wouldn’t give you a drop of water unless there was something in it for them.

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    Mute Joe Kennedy
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    Mar 21st 2023, 8:08 PM

    @Zim Zimma: we see what we want to see. Try looking at things more positively than your Granda did, and you might see things differently!

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    Mute John Geary
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    Mar 21st 2023, 11:27 AM

    Tell Eddie, we saw how Wembley operated during the Euro’s final a couple of years back. Absolute chaos with the level of security & policing they put on. I wouldn’t be using them as a good example.. He’s also looking to schedule same wkend as the European rugby final in the Aviva. Just go for a night in August or Sept when nothings clashing with it.

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    Mute Mark Sheehan
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    Mar 21st 2023, 12:26 PM

    @John Geary: if fans want to behave as they did last summer at Wembley or Lansdowne Rd years ago no amount of security or policing will suffice. Also much the scheduling of bouts is determined by training regimes.

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    Mute Jim Moran
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    Mar 21st 2023, 11:49 AM

    The only lad to complain about the cost of holding an event in Croke Park. It sure is a bad taste he has left.

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    Mute Robert Frazier
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    Mar 21st 2023, 10:22 AM

    How much are gardai getting paid?

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    Mute Kev Coburn
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    Mar 21st 2023, 6:30 PM

    To be fair to him, it costs an absolute fortune to insure and police big-time Boxing events in Ireland. The amount of rival criminal gang members that would invariably show up would increase the likelihood of a Regency shooting style incident occurring. Despite their willingness to push other events through, and the high esteem in which Katie Taylor is held, I cannot see the Irish government wanting anything to do with assisting something that could potentially be associated with such negative publicity. Regular, large scale, professional Boxing events, on these shores, are a thing of the past. With or without star drawing power.

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