By: Hans Themistode
For the past several years, both Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor have reigned near the top of the female mountain top. Now, they’ll look to prove who’s the best female fighter in the world.
After years of pent-up demand from the fans, both Taylor and Serrano will finally lock horns on April 30th in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Taylor, who won Olympic gold in 2012, will place her undisputed lightweight titles on the line when she takes on the former seven division world champion. Since nabbing every piece of lightweight hardware in 2019, Taylor has defended her undisputed tag a total of five times. Most recently, Taylor took care of business against Firuza Sharapova, winning a wide unanimous decision in December of 2021.
With the victory, Taylor waited patiently for Serrano to hold up her end of the bargain, something she accomplished with ease. The Puerto Rican native dominated former title challenger Miriam Gutierrez one week after Taylor secured her victory.
Now, with arguably the biggest fight in women’s boxing set to take place, Serrano is excited to share the ring with another great fighter.
“This is a fight I’ve wanted for a long, long time,” said Taylor. “I’m just excited for it to finally take place because these are the kind of fights I’m in the sport for,” said Taylor. “People have been talking about this fight for years and there have been times I wondered if it was ever going to happen so I’m very grateful to Eddie Hearn, everyone at Matchroom, DAZN, and Madison Square Garden for getting it over the line.”
For the 33-year-old Serrano, a showdown against Taylor is one that she’s craved for years. Although the hard-hitting Puerto Rican has fought only once at 135 pounds since 2018, she proved that she has the power and overall skills to compete with much bigger fighters.
During her recent showdown against Gutierrez, which took place at 135 pounds, Serrano battered her throughout the night. With the biggest fight of her career now only months away from taking place, Serrano thinks back to all of the sacrifices that she made to get to this point. Ultimately, Serrano believes her years of hard work were well worth it.
“It is a dream come true to have the opportunity to headline Madison Square Garden and do so against one of the greatest boxers of all time in Katie Taylor,” said Serrano. “Since I was a young girl, my only boyfriend has been boxing. I have dedicated my life to him, and this event makes that commitment worth every minute. On April 30th I am going to make history for me, for my team, for my family, for Puerto Rico, for every Latina and Latino, and for all women worldwide.”