"I'm in."
On Thursday, many in Ireland were resigning themselves to the fact that Katie Taylor's homecoming
would not be as spectacular as we all wanted. By Friday night, Conor McGregor was stepping forward with a possible solution.
As she has stated on multiple occasions, Taylor would dearly love to fight at Croke Park, with Amanda Serrano top of the list for what would be a hugely anticipated rematch.
Taylor vs. Serrano I could have taken place in Ireland but Eddie Hearn's Matchroom could not get a Croke Park deal sorted. With the rematch in mind, they went back for another try.
The major hold-up, according to Eddie Hearn, is Croke Park costing far more to book for an event than the likes of Wembley or multiple UK venues. The promoter told Ariel Helwani, on Wednesday, that the plan is for Taylor to fight at the 3 Arena [Point] on May 20. Croke Park is still an option, he said, but perhaps in September.
Croke Park officials refuted Hearn's claim that renting the stadium would cost more than three times the amount of booking Wembley, but stated that security costs [on the same weekend of a Champions Cup final in Dublin] were a key sticking point. The promoters want Dublin City Council to cover the additional security costs, and vice-versa.
So, it looked as if we were at an impasse until Conor McGregor grabbed his phone and reached out. 'The Notorious' donated €1 million to Crumlin Boxing Club, earlier this week, and was feeling extra benevolent. He tweeted:
'The extra security bill is 500k to have Katie Taylor fight at Croke Park? I will sponsor the event to see this happen.'
https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/1621646548663767041
That tweet got a massive response and did not take long to reach Eddie Hearn. The promoter reached out and declared, 'Let's talk'.
Conor McGregor was eager to see if the May 20th date at Croke Park was still a possibility. He was also keen to see Katie Taylor get a generous pay-day.
https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/1621657312313151488
Katie Taylor on Conor McGregor
The pair took the rest of the conversation into the DMs so it is now a watch this space situation.
Should Conor McGregor help get this Katie Taylor fight over the line, he will go further up in her estimations. The Bray native recently told us this about McGregor
"He's the biggest name in UFC for the last few years and he's definitely transcended the sport. He's just been incredible, his whole razzmatazz part of it as well. He's definitely had a huge impact on the Irish people as well, and Irish sport in general, the fact that he did take over the sport for a while, for a few years he was the top, top man, and it was just incredible to watch his rise.
"It's always inspiring seeing your own countrymen or women take over the sport, definitely for a few years he was the best athlete that we've had, so an amazing inspiration for a lot of people at home."
Let us hope a deal can be sorted for the homecoming to be in Croke Park.
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