THERE’S something jarring about the idea of Eddie Hearn swaggering into Croke Park on Friday morning.

It is to be overcast in Dublin but, still, I’m imagining sunglasses. That dimple-inducing salesman’s smile. Ankles that haven’t seen so much as the thread of a sock in years.

What would Michael Cusack make of this tall totem of sporting capitalism striding confidently through the corridors of what was intended to be a cathedral of amateur endeavour?

That particular shark was jumped a long time ago, of course, as the GAA cosies up to concert promoters and welcomes Premier League millionaires at the height of summer in order to make ends meet.

No organisation, it seems, is immune from the fiscal realities of the modern world.

Which is why Croke Park finds its name, and all that it represents as more than merely a venue for hire, tossed about like a piece of loose litter on the breeze any time Hearn casts Katie Taylor’s silhouette into the night sky.

It’s getting on for four years of this talk now – ever since the Bray woman edged a bloody, brutal battle with Amanda Serrano inside a packed Madison Square Garden.

That night could never be topped, irrespective of anything Taylor achieved thereafter, yet it is clear the opportunity to fight at Croke Park is the one box that remains unchecked on a hefty bucket list.

Hence why Taylor has been so persistent in her messaging; it might even be the sole reason she is still going as her 40th birthday looms in July.

Because it is no longer just a homecoming, it is the last stop on a long journey; a celebration of the trailblazing role she has played in women’s boxing not just in Ireland, but across the world.

And while the rest of us can shout and holler and say what a disgrace it would be were she not granted this final wish, it is Hearn’s job to work out the logistics. To make it pay.

This is where the waters begin to get muddied.

After all the bluster and noise leading into initial talks, it ended with the Matchroom Sport chairman pointing the finger firmly at Croke Park – citing prohibitively high security and rental costs, and claiming it would work out three times more expensive than hosting a show at Wembley.

So, three years after outlining that disparity, what has changed? As Hearn goes into Friday’s meeting with Croke Park commercial director Peter McKenna, where are the reasons for renewed hope?

With a capacity of 82,300 for Gaelic football or hurling matches, that is a lot of bums to get on seats. Tickets will not be cheap either. Katie Taylor unquestionably holds a special place in the heart of all Irish sports fans, but filling Croke Park is a monumental ask.

Like a lot of similar stadiums, there is a strange dynamic at play. Croke Park with 60,000 inside just doesn’t feel right. The atmosphere can be underwhelming. Even ‘The Greatest’ struggled, with an estimated 18-25,000 (many of whom broke through turnstiles) watching Muhammad Ali defeat Al ‘Blue’ Lewis in July 1972.

In terms of the appetite for boxing, recent evidence throws up a few concerns too. There were an awful lot of empty seats inside Belfast’s SSE Arena for what turned out to be Michael Conlan’s final fight last month.

The National Stadium holds 2,000 people, yet was not full for an Irish elite finals night that featured two-time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington upon her return to the ring post-Paris 2024 heroics.

Indeed, for Taylor’s 2023 homecoming at Dublin’s 9,000 capacity 3Arena, and a blockbuster unification fight with England’s Chantelle Cameron, tickets were still available in the days beforehand.

Of course, something the size and scale of that planned for Croke Park relies on appealing to a much broader fanbase.

For those who watched Taylor’s rise through the ranks as an amateur, helping women’s boxing become an established Olympic sport, then pioneering once more in the pro ranks, bidding a generational star farewell represents once of those unique ‘I was there’ moments we don’t get too many of on these shores.

People who wouldn’t ordinarily go near a boxing event would go to this - because it is Katie, because of the huge affection and esteem in which she is held. But would there be enough?

In terms of opponents, there would be a nice symmetry to a meeting with Natasha Jonas. The tough Scouser was in the opposite corner when the roof almost came off the ExCeL exhibition centre back at London 2012 – the first hurdle overcome on the way to Taylor’s unforgettable Olympic gold.

She won handily that day, but the rematch in the pro ranks was a much closer cagier affair. Unlike the dangerous Cameron, with whom Taylor is all-square after two fights, Jonas is past her prime and would be a safe option against whom to sail off into the sunset.

But there needs to be more. There were suggestions, since shot down by Hearn, that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua could meet on the bill. A mega-fight of such proportions - even one that has long lost its lustre - would have been a huge draw, potentially even on a global scale.

Maybe Anthony Cacace in a world title defence, even though he is on the books of rival promoter Frank Warren? How about Lewis Crocker-Paddy Donovan III? Hearn will have to get creative if the dream is to be realised; he knows that better than anybody.

“You don’t get what you deserve,” said shock-haired promoter Don King once upon a time, “you get what you negotiate” – and even Katie Taylor cannot escape that reality in a sport where sentimentality holds little sway unless the numbers add up.

© The Irish News