Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Katie Taylor 3Arena headache emerges as Eddie Hearn names date for Dublin homecoming fight

Katie Taylor fans will face extortionate hotel prices if the Bray Bomber's homecoming fight goes ahead at the 3Arena on May 20.

The undisputed lightweight champion looked set to defend her belts in a rematch against Amanda Serrano at Croke Park later this year after their epic Madison Square Garden battle last April, which Taylor won via split-decision.

However, GAA Headquarters is off the cards for now due to the cost of hiring the stadium, according to Taylor's promoter Eddie Hearn, who has stated that the 2012 Olympic gold medallist could instead fight at the much smaller 3Arena on May 20.

READ MORE: Katie Taylor fans fume over Croke Park decision as Dublin homecoming date confirmed

That is the same date on which the Aviva Stadium will host the Champions Cup final, with the Challenge Cup decider also taking place at the Dublin 4 venue on the previous night.

As a result, hotel rooms are already extremely short in the capital for that weekend, with Booking.com only showing 32 available properties in the city on the Saturday night at the time of writing.

Many of the hotels that do have rooms left on the date are charging sky-high prices, with a room for two at the four-star Trinity City Hotel costing €476, while a room for the same number of people at Jurys Inn on Parnell Street costing €435.

Other prices include €351 for the two-star Celtic Lodge Guesthouse on Talbot Street, €580 for the three-star Trinity Townhouse Hotel at St Stephen's Green and €499 for a room with no window at the three-star Temple Bar Lane in Temple Bar.

Hearn revealed to Canadian journalist Ariel Helwani on Wednesday that the cost of hiring Croke Park was too much for the fight to be staged there, but said they could return to talks with the GAA in the future.

Katie Taylor and Eddie Hearn (Matthew Pover Matchroom Boxing)

He explained: "The cost of hire and everything involved in the event is three times hire nearly than staging it in Wembley Stadium.

"Ultimately Katie Taylor has financial demands for this fight and so does Amanda Serrano and we want to make sure we deliver on that. We're so far out on that possibility on the cost of running that show and we're out of time on delivering that date to the broadcaster.

"Now we'll be in a big arena in Dublin and then hopefully in September we revisit Croke Park."

The promoter added: "I promised Katie Taylor she'd be in Ireland for the next fight and it would be the most sensational atmosphere wherever she is.

"Sooner or later you have to make a decision and make a move and the move is we have to go May 20th and unless we go now it's going to be another moment that we miss a fight for Katie in Ireland and I'm not prepared to do it anymore.

"We keep working towards Croke Park, maybe Taylor-Serrano III in September but for now her next fight is in Ireland. She'll be at the show on Saturday and if Serrano is to win it looks almost certain we'll get that rematch in Ireland."

Serrano faces Erika Cruz for the opportunity to become the undisputed world featherweight champion this weekend at Madison Square Garden this weekend.

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.