Katie Taylor homecoming card indefinitely shelved
The ‘powers that be’ have advised against running a big Katie Taylor homecoming claims manager Brian Peters and Team Taylor are heeding this advice.
There is little doubt among Irish fight fans that the unified world champion could bring big time boxing back to the city and give the sport on this island a serious boost outside of the thriving hub of Belfast.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has dropped a number of potential Taylor return dates since announcing his relationship with the London 2012 Olympic gold medal winner – the most recent being an April unification bout at the 3Arena.
When a Irish fight date didn’t transpire, fans suggested the Matchroom boss was wrongly worrying about potential ticket sales and saw America as a more lucrative path for the Bray native to take.
Others pointed to the somewhat unsuccessful ‘Return of the Mack’ card in November 2014, the last Matchroom bill in Dublin, which suffered a postponement, logistical issues, and the headline fighter losing, as a reason for Hearn’s reluctance to return to Dublin.
However, it seems a return has been explored only for Team Taylor and Matchroom to be told that “the climate is not right.”
“We had talks recently with the powers that be and they advised us that the climate is not conducive to having a fight night,” said manager Peters.
“It’s very tricky, really, to get into it. We still hope to fight here. But if you want to run a show; there are the sanctioning bodies, the Gardai; there are a whole load of boxes you have to tick.”
Taylor herself is a little more optimistic and still hopes to one day fight in front of a packed Irish arena – although is not forcing the issue.
“I’d absolutely love to fight in Ireland. I’m really looking forward to the homecoming at some stage. I think people are excited about it as well but at the moment it’s out of my control.”
“I leave that in the promoter’s hands and the manager’s hands.”
The latest outline for Taylor looks to be a fight in July in England before an Autumn return to America. A December Dublin date had been mooted but this now looks extremely unlikely following yesterday’s comments.
