Boxing

“I’ve put my body through the trenches”: Taylor is ready for Serrano rematch and bets fight purse on Tyson to win

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are the co-main event of the Tyson-Paul fight card

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano starring into the crowd with people standing behind them at a press conference
Katie Taylor, left, and Amanda Serrano with MVP promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian during a press conference, held at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas, USA, ahead of their undisputed super lightweight championship fight, on November 15th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile (Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE/SPORTSFILE)

SATURDAY will see a lot of boxing fans hitting the snooze alarms in the later hours of the morning if they go to bed at all after watching the Netflix card on offer in the wee hours of the morning.

Arguably, the co-main event is proving a better prospect of a fight than the big bust-up between 58-year-old Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, an entertainer wanting to be taken seriously as a boxer, yet dressed his hair like a chicken to his open workout.

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano will butt heads again after their historic meeting in Madison Square Gardens for what was one of the greatest female fights of all time.

On any other night, Taylor-Serrano 2 would be at the top of its own fight card, such is the prestige and rivalry between these two athletes.



Taylor came out on top last time, though this result was and is still disputed by Serrano and her team, which includes main card contender Jake Paul, who is her promoter.

“I believe that I won the last fight clearly and I am just going to go in there on Friday night and beat her again,” said Taylor, who is currently the undisputed and lineal super-lightweight champion of the world.

“I’ve put my body through the trenches in the last few months and it’s an absolute privilege to be here on the same card as a legend (she points at Mike Tyson) of the sport.

“It’s an amazing opportunity that we both have and I can’t wait to step in there and show these what I can do again and get another win.”

Katie Taylor says her win against Amanda Serrano was "well deserved"
Katie Taylor will hope that she can replicate her form in Madison Square Gardens in 2022

In 2022, the match-up between these two fighters at MSG was named the Sporting News' Fight of the Year at the Boxing Awards, a fitting show for the first time that a female boxing event has headlined the famous New York sports venue.

Serrano, who is a record breaker in her own right, being the only female seven-division world champion in history, said: “I think there’s always a lot of pressure being the face of a sport but I feel like I’m not just the face, we [Serrano and Taylor] came together, made history together, I have made history loads of times.

“I just have to make sure I go out there and perform like I did last time.”

On that famous night in New York, Taylor looked at one point, in the fifth round, like she had been well-and-truly rocked by Serrano, every punch seemed to find its target.

Katie Taylor celebrates after she is announced as the winner of her battle with Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom.
Katie Taylor rescued a win after a shaky fifth round against Serrano at Madison Square Gardens. PICTURE: Melina Pizano/Matchroom

The Bray Bomber’s fuse looked to have been all but put out by the barrage of hits to both the body and face by the Puerto Rican, leaving Ireland’s golden child with a bloodied nose and a dazed look on her face, like she didn’t know what hit her.

“I think, for every single fighter, we’re always prepared for moments like that, that’s why we train so hard,” said the Olympic gold medallist.

“When you’re in shape and you’re fit, you recover so well from those moments.

“I take a lot of reassurance from that and a lot of confidence from that because I took her bigger shots and I wasn’t stumbled, I wasn’t moved and I won the second half of that fight.

“I take a lot of reassurance into the rematch because of that.”

No matter what the outcome of the fight on Saturday morning, both fighters are so evenly matched and their styles mesh so well that this will only enhance the rivalry between these two athletes.

There is also an element of legacy to be thought about ahead of this fight, with both women representing a story of struggle and resilience for young aspiring athletes to follow.

Katie Taylor will lead Ireland into the inaugural European Games in Baku next month
Katie Taylor (pictured above in 2015) started boxing in 1998 at St Fergal's Boxing Club in Bray when her dad started training her and her two older brothers, Lee and Peter

“For me, that’s the greatest part about this journey as well,” said Taylor, who originally boxed at St Fergal’s Boxing Club in Bray.

“Just being able to inspire and impact the next generation of female fighters.

“When I started boxing as a 9/10-year-old, there were no female fighters that I knew in the boxing gyms in Ireland.

“Every single boxing gym I walk into now at home is packed with female fighters and that to me is what legacy is all about really.

“I think what me and Amanda have done these last few years, inspired that generation of young fighters is the best thing that we can leave behind in this sport, it’s an absolute privilege.”

Ollie Watkins numbers heavyweight great Mike Tyson among his idols
Taylor has shook on a bet with Jake Paul over their fight purses that Mike Tyson would come out on top in the man event

For boxing purists, this showdown will be the real headline but, as with the build-up, things were drawn back to the ‘main event’, with Jake Paul making a bet with Taylor, wagering their fight purses that Mike Tyson would come out on top over ‘El Gallo’.