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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Kieran Cunningham

Katie Taylor homecoming against Chantelle Cameron will come with awkward questions

Between now and May 20, you'll hear the same line thrown out countless times.

Claims that Katie Taylor v Chantelle Cameron marks the return of pro boxing to Dublin for the first time since the Regency Hotel shooting in February, 2016.

In truth, there have been a dozen shows in the capital since then - but they've all been small hall ones.

READ MORE: Katie Taylor v Chantelle Cameron tickets: When do they go on sale and where can I purchase them?

Because of a myriad of reasons - from BUI fees to insurance costs to the security risk - there has been no big time boxing in Dublin.

The last such show saw Matthew Macklin lose to Jorge Heiland in the 3Arena on November 15, 2014.

But tickets for that card were hard to sell and the 9000 seater venue switched to a reduced capacity of 5000 for the night.

On March 19, 2011, Willie Casey lost to Guillermo Rigondeaux in the City West in a WBA world super bantamweight interim title bout.

But that didn't draw a huge crowd either.

The last full house for a big boxing bill in Dublin? We have to go back to one of the greatest days in modern Irish sporting history - March 21, 2009.

That afternoon, Ireland won a first Grand Slam in 51 years thanks to Ronan O'Gara's drop goal for the ages.

O'Gara talked afterwards of the emotional impact three text messages he received on the morning of the game had on him.

They came from David Humphreys, Nicky English and Barry McGuigan. His old number 10 rival, a hurling legend and one of the great Irish boxers. The Irish sporting family spurring on one of their own.

We could see that at ringside in the O2 Arena that night too.

Sitting close together were superstars of rugby, soccer and snooker - Shane Horgan, Paul McGrath and Ken Doherty. All of them could be seen roaring Bernard Dunne on to victory.

That will soon be 14 years ago. Ireland have won another Grand Slam since, and are on the brink of getting the big one again.

But boxing was on its knees and it took a long time to drag it to its feet.

Pro boxing is a small world. Both Dunne and Macklin were managed by Brian Peters and the Meathman has steered Taylor's rise in the paid ranks too.

That it has taken the guts of seven years for her to get a homecoming fight was due to matters out of control of the Taylor camp.

But it will be hard to talk up a rebirth, hard to step out of the shadow of the Regency.

Cameron used to be on the books of MTK Global - a company owned by Daniel Kinahan, who was the target of the Regency shooting.

Cameron is trained by Jamie Moore. He was shot in the garden of Kinahan's villa in Marbella in 2014. Moore has never been involved in criminality. His shooting was down to mistaken identity. The reported target was Kinahan.

Taylor's promoter is Eddie Hearn, someone who was photographed with Kinahan in the past and who negotiated with him.

The undercard at the 3Arena will be full of ex-MTK fighters too.

Hearn and others have brushed off questions about Kinahan easily enough in the past, but negotiating the build-up to this fight will be trickier. After all, it will be taking place just three miles away from the Regency.

And press conferences will include reporters who are very familiar with the Kinahan and boxing story, and who are hungry for answers.

You'll hear plenty of talk about ticket prices - and the astronomical cost of hotel rooms - soon too. Judging on previous Taylor fights in the UK, it's likely that the cheapest tickets won't be far off e100.

Cameron isn't Amanda Serrano but will still present a significant challenge, not least because Taylor is stepping up in weight. That always brings an element of the unknown into play.

The vast majority of those in the 3Arena will be seeing Taylor fight in the flesh for the first time.

Even if you go back to her amateur days, she rarely fought in this country. After winning Olympic gold in 2012, she had six fights in Ireland in 2013, four in 2014, three in 2015 and just two in 2016.

Those bouts took place in venues like the Mallow GAA Complex, Tralee's Brandon Hotel, Ballywaltrim Community Centre and the Loreto Sports Complex in Fermoy.

A world away from a packed 3Arena. It's not Croke Park, but it will still be momentous.

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