Big time boxing is firmly back on the Emerald Isle this Saturday when Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron collide at the 3Arena, Dublin.
Eddie Hearn and Matchroom return to Irish soil for the first time in nearly nine years. The last foray into the fight loving country was when Matthew Macklin fell at the hands of Jorge Sebastian Heiland.
Katie Taylor joined the Matchroom party in 2016, with a view to becoming the catalyst for boxing in her country to fulfill its potential once again. It remains the plan, but has come years later than expected.
“It was never a place we came often, but with Katie Taylor you would expect to come often.” Hearn said in an exclusive interview for ProBox TV News. “We would have come here at least once or twice a year. It has been frustrating, but it is also testament to the fact as to what a star she has become. She has been able to go to England, America, Wales, fighting in all those countries as the headline, all without fighting at home. It is a massive night for her and the atmosphere is going to be amazing.
“When I had that first meeting with her, I thought, wow, we could fill out stadiums and we were already talking about Croke Park. You have to adapt. When people started to see her, she became a star quite quickly. A lot of the success of that was built on Anthony Joshua undercards. She was co-main event at Wembley Stadium, Millennium Stadium and people would love to watch her. That was a great platform for her. She has done everything the hard way, and now we are here I think she will fight the rest of here career in Ireland. This gate is the biggest gate in the history of the 3Arena. It just shows you what a draw she is. And, you know every fight she is going to be in will be a thriller.”
Being in Dublin this week it is abundantly clear how much the country values boxing and its fighters representing Ireland. The future looks bright for boxing in the country after a torrid time of late.
“They are massive fight fans here, and they are very intelligent fight fans.” Hearn added. “All those prospects have not any shows to perform on. It is very hard as a promoter to take a kid from Kildare or Limerick and box him in Sheffield or Manchester, unless they are unbelievable! Paddy Donovan is a serious talent, if he can box in Dublin three or four times a year? That changes everything.
“One if the best nights I had was in Dublin. At the time we were team [Chris] Eubank when he fought Steve Collins. I was about 13, there was mist coming up everywhere. You know overnight in Ireland is going to be wild. You will see that on Saturday.”
The Irish fighters have starved in recent years. The difficulties of promoting a show in the country has lead to Hearn not picking up some of the talent available in Ireland.
“You need to build a fighter in their hometown, or at least once or twice a year. Not never!” Hearn continued. “Now that changes. We will see how Paddy [Donovan] does, see how Caoimhin [Agyarko} looks and we could really build something.”
Hearn finds himself promoting both Cameron and Taylor, leading both to undisputed glory. Split loyalties strike again.
“Chantelle understands that Katie is the A-side.” Responded Hearn. “She is okay with it. Katie gets pulled everywhere, whereas Chantelle is happy to go back to her hotel. You will always fall out with someone a little bit when there are two fighters involved you work with. Chantelle knows this is her chance, That is all she needs.”
