Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano rematch won’t be at Croke Park, May 20 in Dublin still the plan

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are still on track to fight a rematch this spring in Ireland, but it won’t be the hoped-for Croke Park stadium bout, with promoter Eddie Hearn saying that idea is officially “dead.”

Hearn was a guest on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani today, and broke down the issues that have moved the fight from Croke Park, and also said the fight will still be in Ireland, with May 20 the target date, provided Serrano beats Erika Cruz this Saturday.

“So the cost of everything involved with the event is three times nearly more (at Croke Park) than staging it at Wembley Stadium. It’s unbelievable, it’s so frustrating,” Hearn said.

“People will just Tweet me and go, ‘Shut up, Hearn, just do it anyway!’ It doesn’t work like that, it’s a business. Ultimately, Katie Taylor has her financial demands for this fight, so does Amanda Serrano, and we want to make sure we deliver them that. But we’re so far out on that possibility with the cost of running that show, and we’re out of time, in terms of delivering that date to the broadcaster.

“We’ve got to move. So now, we’ll be in a big arena in Dublin — subject to Serrano winning (against Erika Cruz on Saturday), and subject to tying up a deal. And then hopefully in September, we revisit Croke Park.

“It’s frustrating, but at the same time, I promised Katie Taylor that we’d be in Ireland for next fight. It will be the most sensational atmosphere wherever we are, but we’ll see what happens on Saturday night,” he added.

Hearn did say the fight could possible move to Dublin’s 3Arena, where Conor McGregor fought Diego Brandao in 2014.

“Sooner or later, you have to make a decision, you have to make a move, and the move is we want to go May 20,” he said. “That’s the date. Unless we (book the date) now, it’s gonna 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 vs Serrano 3 in September — but for now her next fight will be in Ireland. She’ll be at the show on Saturday, and if Serrano is to win, it’s almost certain that we get that rematch in Ireland.”

Asked if Serrano needed to win on Saturday to secure the Taylor rematch, given that a Taylor fight would be at lightweight and Saturday’s fight is at featherweight, Hearn replied, “I think so. We’re talking about the top of the sport, elite vs elite, pound-for-pound greats.

“Listen, Erika Cruz can fight. Poor old Erika Cruz, she’s doing her media now in the hotel, she’s there saying, ‘Hello, I’m also a world champion!’ It’s Puerto Rico against Mexico, it’s going to be a war, those two.

“But ultimately, to build a rematch and an event like that, you would want (Serrano) to come through impressively at the weekend. Katie will be there. We’ll see if we get a deal tied up with (Most Valuable Promotions). It’s a natural fight to make.”