Katie Taylor will fight Amanda Serrano in the same Garden ring where the finest boxers in history have left their blood, guts and dreams.
In the steep banks of seats in the sacred big room, 18,000 will raise their flags in a battle of colour between the local Puerto Ricans, the travelling Irish and the curious. It will be impossible to be a neutral in that first rush of emotion that greets the opening bell; the fight will start under a canopy of howling hearts. It’s possible that this fight, a very modern yet old-fashioned brawl for the undisputed lightweight title, could have only ever ended up in New York City at its holy sporting venue, Madison Square Garden. It feels like a fight from the sport’s black and white days; the quiet Irishman, the local boy, a hostile crowd, a walking priest, the bookies and the captive audience.
This version of my little boxing fairytale has an Irishwoman carrying a Bible and a Puerto Rican from Brooklyn with attitude; they share 64 fights, they share world titles at seven weights and they have now arrived at that tiny piece of boxing promised land, a place where the winner will be the queen, the last woman standing. The bookies in this city favour the local gal – Taylor is not an easy underdog. It’s the first time in her long, long life in the ring that she has not been favourite. Taylor is unbeaten in 20; Serrano has lost just once in 44. Taylor is two years older at 35. Serrano has added some bulk across her back and shoulders, the real hidden chest for bangers. Taylor has something back in her eyes I have not seen for a couple of years. The public knows and has rejected the narrative about Serrano being too small and Taylor being too slow. I know what I saw in those eyes: a desire to win.
It has taken three years of deals, promises, threats and Covid to get this fight from fantasy to fact; the original date, two years ago, was in Eddie Hearn’s childhood garden with a crowd of just 68. Plus, six distracted llamas.
“I’m glad that fell through,” whispered Taylor on Thursday in New York. “So am I,” said Hearn, the co-promoter of Saturday’s fight. Can I add, so are we.
Taylor and Serrano are making over $1m (£800,000) each for their role in the history fight. It’s a female record, topping the bill at the Garden is another; the expected sell-out just adds to the event. The days when women were sideshow attractions in the old game are over. The other pioneers fought too many hapless flappers, keep-fitters with no idea. We still call them bums in the men’s code, which might seem harsh, but it is true.
Taylor and Serrano are not the first great female boxers; they are just the first two to fight, the two prepared to fight each other, the two with perfect dance partners and the two with a startling awareness of their role. And they are also the two best in the world right now.
Sadly, twice in history the deals for legacy fights between women collapsed in anger and lies and accusations. This fight looked destined for the same dustbin. Hearn gives a lot of credit for the fight happening to Jake Paul, the novice pro, multimillionaire and social media entrepreneur. They are boxing’s oddest of odd couples.
Christy Martin never fought Lucia Rijker and Laila Ali never met Anne Wolfe; they would have been big – not this big – and they would have come at a time to halt the dark years when professional boxing appeared to vanish. It was gone for about a decade before Taylor singlehandedly led a salvage mission; Olympic champion, hero, pioneer, inspiration and good person. The whisperer from Bray: our lady of salvation.
Serrano has the power to hurt any woman, but Taylor’s jaw is solid. Taylor has the skills to box to a sensible victory, but Serrano has worked on cutting the ring down. They will have to fight, slug and stand toe to toe at some point. The first to slow down will be in danger; any sign of weakness will be exposed in the most naked of ways. It will not be easy and it might not be pretty. Last Saturday in London, Tyson Fury was not pretty in his masterclass.
In 2010, Taylor rejected a suggestion from the men running amateur boxing that the women switch from shorts to mini-skirts. “We’ve got morals that go above marketing,” she said. The idea was dropped, Taylor won an Olympic gold two years later, and the Irish icon became a global star. The spotlight has never dimmed. Serrano even acknowledges that Taylor changed the game when she turned professional. Serrano has made as little as $5,000 for her world title fights.
The Garden’s famed bright lights will dip at about 10pm on Saturday and the walks will start. There was talk of Bono leading out Taylor, singing for his life. It’s that type of fight. In the end there will be no pity and no serenading. There will be a real fight and Taylor will win.
Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano is live on DAZN, a subscription costs £7.99 per month and you can sign up here
