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Katie Taylor's highly-anticipated world title rematch against Amanda Serrano is set to make history once again, as Irish MMA star Conor McGregor steps in to sponsor the event. The Irish fighter will face Serrano in Dublin's 3Arena on May 20th, but negotiations with the Gaelic Athletic Association to host the bout at Croke Park fell through.
The GAA cited the Matchroom promoter's refusal to pay for the "extra security bill" as the reason for not allowing the fight to take place at the stadium. However, McGregor offered to sponsor the event by providing £500,000 to pay for the extra security, taking to Twitter to declare, "The extra security bill is 500k to have Katie Taylor fight at Croke Park? I will sponsor the event to see this happen."
In response, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn posted, "Let's talk." The lightweight title fight was later confirmed after Serrano's win against Erika Cruz, with Taylor joining Serrano in the ring for the post-fight face-off.
Croke Park's commercial director, Peter McKenna, stated that the "real issue here is about security costs" and that the stadium would love to host the fight. The cost of renting the stadium was around £355,000, which is not much more than renting Wembley, according to McKenna.
Hearn expressed his frustration over the situation, stating that the cost of running the event in Ireland is nearly three times more than at Wembley Stadium. Despite the challenges, Hearn promised that Taylor's next fight would be in Ireland, declaring that "it will be the most sensational atmosphere wherever we are."
The Taylor vs Serrano rematch promises to be a historic event, with McGregor's sponsorship bringing the bout one step closer to taking place at Croke Park. Stay tuned to see what happens next in this exciting story.