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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano rematch quite simply must take place at Croke Park

Katie Taylor's next fight quite simply must take place on Irish soil.

Her promoter Eddie Hearn has stated constantly over the years that it would be a 'shame' if she never got to fight professionally here, but after her performance last weekend it would be nothing short of a disgrace.

She's 21-0 and a homecoming bout is long overdue.

Incredibly the Amanda Serrano fight was just the fourth time that the Bray Bombor fought in a main event since turning professional in 2016.

But after selling out Madison Square Garden, with around a quarter of the 19,187 tickets sold purchased by people living in Ireland and thousands more snapped up by Irish fans living in America, Canada and further afield, Taylor must finally now get what she deserves.

Talk of a rematch between the pair began almost immediately as the final bell sounded in the early hours of Sunday morning, not that anyone in the arena could hear the bell.

MSG was mentioned as the front-runner to host the rematch immediately after the fight before Hearn revealed interest from the Middle East a few days later.

Given Saudi Arabia's awful human rights record and their treatment of women, they should not be part of the conversation.

Katie Taylor after beating Amanda Serrano (Melina Pizano/Matchroom)

Hearn has stated that he can't see many Puerto Rican fans travelling to Dublin, but I wouldn't say there'd be many Irish keen on visiting a country where alcohol is banned to attend a major sporting event.

And then there's Dubai, where Daniel Kinahan has lived a life of luxury for a number of years while being able to stay heavily involved in boxing up until recently when the US government imposed sanctions on him.

The attempt on his life at a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel in 2016, where his friend David Byrne was shot dead, is one of the main reasons why Taylor has not fought in Dublin, with gardai reluctant to let a major boxing event go ahead while he remained involved in the sport.

Now that his boxing involvement is understood to have all but ceased, how ridiculous would it be for Taylor to fight in the place that turned a blind eye to Kinahan for far too long?

I have no doubt that Taylor would sell out Croke Park and 50 years on from when the great Muhammad Ali fought at the stadium, it would be extremely fitting to see one of our own boxing heroes headline a show there.

Fellow Irish fighters Caoimhin Agyarko, James Tennyson and Tommy McCarthy are all signed with Matchroom and could be options for the undercard, while the likes of Australian Skye Nicholson, who fought on the MSG undercard and has family in Skerries, along with the English pair of Chantelle Cameron and Terri Harper would also be popular additions.

If Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte can sell 94,000 tickets for Wembley, surely we can sell out Croke Park for Taylor.

Thousands turned out in Bray to welcome Taylor home after her 2012 Olympic triumph, while a similar number of fans took to the streets of Dublin for Kellie Harrington's homecoming last August.

The residents around Croke Park have already given a homecoming fight the green light as has the stadium boss at GAA headquarters.

The speculation around where our undisputed and undefeated champion should fight next needs to end now. Croke Park is the only option.

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