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Amanda Serrano sparked fire we’ve never seen from Katie Taylor — and it was thrilling!
The unforeseen fiery moment came when moderator Ariel Helwani asked Katie Taylor to respond to Amanda Serrano’s assertion that the two fighters had a handshake deal for 12 three-minute rounds instead of 10 two-minute rounds for their trilogy bout.
Taylor, usually about as reserved as a two-division undisputed world champion can be, did not hold back at all.
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“I think we shook on it dependent on if you won the fight, but regardless I think it’s a matter of principle that the challenger shouldn’t be dictating the terms of the fight,” Taylor fired back at Wednesday evening’s trilogy fight press conference at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “I am 2-0 here and I'm in the driver’s seat here and that's only right.
“At the end of the day, Amanda needs this fight a lot more than I do. I have a long history of big fights against big names and a line of people queued up to fight me for the payday.”
Just then, Serrano, the decorated seven-division world champion, interjected.
“You shook on it, not knowing whether I was going to win or lose, Katie,” she said. “I respect you and I will continue to respect you in and out the ring, Katie, but we did shake on it. If you say you call the shots, you could have called the shots that day.”
Taylor doubled down on her statement: “You need this fight a lot more than I do, Amanda. At the end of the day, I think the point of [you fighting] three-minute rounds was to prove to people that you get more knockouts. How many knockouts did you get in your 12 three-minute rounds? Zero.”
Regarding Serrano’s belief that she won the sequel in November, Taylor said she is only interested in what the judges have to say about the fight to which Serrano retorted: “It sucks that it takes three judges who sees something completely different but millions of people saw it another way.”
Whew.
Once a rivalry totally shrouded in respect over a historic first fight in April 2022 and rematch last fall — both Taylor victories — has allowed a bit of bad blood to seep in approaching a third fight July 11 at Madison Square Garden, and live on Netflix.
To see that kind of edge from Taylor and Serrano was intriguing, particularly Serrano bringing out the fire from the Irish superstar. I have interviewed and covered each of them several times over the years and never heard them sling verbal jabs quite like that.
That added element could very well close out this heated rivalry in explosive fashion as another Fight of the Year. I know Terence Crawford challenging Canelo Alvarez aside, Taylor-Serrano III is the confirmed fight I’m looking forward to most this year and Wednesday’s press conference only upped that feeling.
I’m far from being alone with that feeling as well. As part of the press conference, Helwani announced that ticket revenue for the trilogy fight in 24 hours surpassed that of the first fight which was held at MSG three years ago.
The first-ever women’s bout to headline at MSG had the two warriors selling out “The World’s Most Famous Arena” where Taylor edged Serrano via split decision to retain her then-undisputed lightweight crown despite being badly damaged in the fifth round.
The Irish sensation and pride of Puerto Rico went another 10 all-action rounds in November when a worldwide audience of 74 million streaming on Netflix witnessed Taylor controversially receiving a unanimous decision nod to keep her undisputed super lightweight world championship intact.
All three judges awarded the decision to Taylor despite Serrano throwing and landing more punches, and having to overcome a nasty gash over her right eye due to a headbutt. When Wednesday evening’s press conference ended and the fighters faced off, Serrano donned headgear to troll Taylor while staring her down.
Taylor would later tell DAZN News that she thought the antics were “embarrassing.”
In just over three months, boxing fans will get fight number three for Taylor’s undisputed super lightweight crown as the headliner to a fully-loaded all-women’s card which also features Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions’ signees Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner and pound-for-pound talent Dina Thorslund.
Every single fight on the card is a title bout in what could very well could be the most memorable night of women’s boxing ever.
And in that regard, Taylor and Serrano, so intertwined through their rivalry, are in sync with their shared opportunity to push their trilogy further into boxing lore and lead the wave for the next wave of women.
“Listen, this is truly a great opportunity, not just for Katie and I, but for all these incredible women up here right now,” the seven-division world champion Serrano said from the dais. “This is a great opportunity for all of them to shine and they're going to do that come Friday night, July 11th.”
For Taylor, who will be 39 when the fight rolls around in July, there is not anything that tops this impending moment. And that’s said by an Olympic gold medalist and two-division undisputed ruler.
“Looking back at my whole career, this is the proudest moment of my whole career right now,” Taylor said without hesitation. “Headlining this show—an all female card. Thanks so much to MVP for this amazing opportunity, not just for an all-female card, but a top-quality all-female card. This is one of the best women's sporting events in history.”
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