Mouth-watering match-up at Madison Square Garden has captivated the public and will crown world’s best female fighter
The best female fighter in the world will be crowned on Saturday night when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano collide but regardless of who prevails in Manhattan, something greater has already been won.
In a remarkable week in New York, any doubts that the sport is capable of generating serious interest and big box-office dollars have evaporated. It has been a significant moment not just for women’s boxing but for the sport as a whole.
Eddie Hearn, the fight’s promoter, labelled the contest “the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight of women’s boxing” and while some of that is arguably promotional opportunism, he has been backed up by names such as Billie Jean King, Laila Ali and Christy Martin, America’s most famous female fighter. It is the first women’s fight to headline Madison Square Garden in its 140-year history and a story here for the front pages as much as the sport sections.
Former tennis star and activist King sent “congrats to the fighters”, while Laila Ali, daughter of the late Muhammad Ali, said that Hearn “has taken boxing to the next level by putting on this fight”. The two fighters were also a hit with the breakfast television audience earlier this week with an appearance on the top-rated Today Show on NBC.
“I can’t normally get any of my fighters on that show,” Hearn told Telegraph Sport. “It just shows how this has crossed over. The numbers speak for themselves – this was the second highest-grossing boxing pre-sale ever at MSG.”
Hearn’s role has been enhanced with the addition of YouTube star Jake Paul who has 35 million social media followers and has become Serrano’s promoter. It means the two fighters, it is understood, will earn eight-figure paydays for the fight. Million dollar babies.
The setting, Madison Square Garden, adds the history of a mecca for boxing. It was here that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought the first and second of their trilogy of fights – the first known as ‘The Fight of The Century’, in 1971 – where Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield met in 1999 and indeed, in recent years, the site of Anthony Joshua making his US debut against Andy Ruiz in 2019, one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history.
Stylistically, this is a mouth-watering match-up with two elite, aggressive fighters pitching the speed of Taylor against the powerful knockout skills of Serrano. Undefeated Taylor’s lightweight titles and The Ring magazine belt are on the line, against challenger Serrano who has climbed the weight classes to amass a record-breaking nine major world titles in seven different weight classes.
Serrano steps up two weight divisions for this fight. Their heritage adds fire, too. Taylor from Ireland, for whom the Bray native won Olympic gold – at lightweight at the London 2012 Games – and Serrano, out of Brooklyn, but of Puerto Rican heritage, come from two countries with a huge history in boxing. It is expected to be a near sell out 20,000 crowd for the fight.
On the Taylor-Serrano undercard is the undisputed women’s super middleweight title, to be contested by Franchon Crews Dezurn, who fights, designs clothes, and has even appeared on American Idol, and Elin Cederroos, the first Swedish fighter ever to take to the ring at The Garden.
“It means so much, I’m so ready for this,” Cederroos, a former professional football player, told Telegraph Sport. The Swede holds the WBA and IBF titles, Crews Dezurn – known as the ‘HH Diva’ – is the current holder of the WBO and WBC belts. They have added to the show this week, and their fight ought to deliver thrills.
As for the main event itself, it should be a fast and furious encounter. Taylor has changed her style of late, toning down the fists of fury and is more considered in her game plans. Yet she has met every challenge and remains undefeated.
Stylistically, Taylor is the pure boxer, a volume puncher with very fast hands from the orthodox stance; Serrano is very much a power puncher, from a southpaw stance, who is adept at walking down her opponents seeking a toe-to-toe encounter from mid and close range, and therefore it makes this fight the classic boxer versus puncher.
They will fight over 10, two-minute rounds. Serrano will press and close the gap to land her heavy hooking combinations, off the right jab. Taylor will move and throw flurries of fast punches.
It will be intense, close, and may even be a challenge to score. But I am picking Taylor to win on a controversial split decision in a razor close contest. The debate over the winner may well rage, splitting a global audience, and who knows, potentially triggering a rematch.
Serrano said: “We are probably the nicest people, Katie and me. But we will give our all. The real winners are the fans – and women.”
Taylor has without doubt changed the face of boxing for women, and this event is a game changer. “This is just history for me. I’ve always wanted to be a history maker in my sport, and I just feel like all the sacrifices that I have made over the years is worth it for just this one moment alone,” Taylor said.
“It’s not just for me or for Amanda, it’s for the next generation of fighters coming up. I think we’re pushing back the boundaries again and we’re making the path an awful lot easier for the next generation. And that, to me, is everything.” No question. Game changer.