When Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano were locked in battle during the last round of their first fight at Madison Square Garden, on a fevered night in April 2022, I could not help myself. Alongside an entire row of ringside reporters, I stood up to watch the final minute of a riveting contest. Suddenly oblivious to the march of our urgent deadlines and the etiquette of remaining above such raw human emotion, we were swept away by the courage and determination of both women in one of the greatest fights ever staged at the Garden.
“It was only afterwards, when you’re looking back and hearing people’s reactions that you think: ‘Gosh, that was a huge moment for women in boxing’,” Taylor says now. “You’re hearing stories of young girls being inspired by that night and how people are calling it historic. It’s then that you just say: ‘Wow, that was an amazing night.’
“I think my favourite moment was just before the decision was announced and the two of us were going round the ring with our arms around each other’s shoulders, just taking the applause from the crowd. The respect we had for each other, and what we had just done for the sport, meant that we were definitely very proud. So to have the chance to fight her again is so special”
It seems bizarre that their long-awaited rematch should now take place on Friday night as the main support to a circus stunt in Arlington, Texas, which sees a 58-year-old Mike Tyson fight Jake Paul, the 27-year-old YouTube influencer who is trying to become a boxer. Tyson last fought professionally more than 19 years ago, when he was beaten up and stopped by Kevin McBride, an Irish journeyman, and his lifestyle since then has been typically wayward, marked by continued drink and drug problems.
The scrap between Tyson and Paul would be laughable if it did not carry a serious risk. Tyson was once the most ferocious fighter on the planet but he is now a wrecked old shadow of a feared world heavyweight champion. Paul has been working methodically to improve his rudimentary knowledge of boxing and the age difference between him and Tyson is 31 years. He is also fit and carries a decent punch. But the idea that he should share a ring with the most renowned boxer the world has seen since Muhammad Ali is an embarrassment.
In stark contrast, the first fight between Taylor and Serrano captured all that is best about boxing – and the rematch is full of intrigue and real significance. Taylor lost her long unbeaten record in May 2023, when she moved up in weight and Chantelle Cameron won a majority decision against her in Dublin. It was suggested then that Taylor, who is now 38, should retire after her long and glorious amateur and professional career. Taylor was quietly indignant and, a year ago, she became the undisputed world super-lightweight champion when she outpointed Cameron in the rematch.
She and Serrano were due to meet in Texas this July but the entire promotion had to be postponed after Tyson fell ill because of a flare-up of his stomach ulcer. It was another sign that Tyson-Paul should be scrapped but, with hundreds of millions of dollars being generated on Netflix, the entire show was rescheduled for this week.
Taylor generally avoids interviews but it helps that we have spoken often over the years. She is typically friendly and polite and in a positive mood. She, understandably, has also chosen to be a diplomat while focusing on the undoubted chance for her and Serrano to display their grit and skill to a completely new audience.
“It’s just an amazing opportunity because millions upon millions of people will be tuning into this fight,” Taylor says. “I think people are going to see women’s boxing at its very best and that’s amazingly special for the sport.”
Taylor listens to my misgivings about the night at the AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and the fact that Tyson should not be allowed back in the ring for a competitive fight. “I do definitely have those same concerns,” she admits, “but he did look very good against Roy Jones [in a drawn eight-round exhibition in November 2020]. He definitely hasn’t lived the cleanest life since then but I think over the last few years he’s cleaned himself up. We’re hoping that shows through on the night, but he obviously has amazing experience and nothing is going to faze Mike Tyson.”
Taylor is an ambassador for the old-school boxing company, Everlast, which has been making fight clothing and equipment since 1910, and aligns herself firmly with traditionalists of the ring. Taylor clearly loves the sport with an enduring fervour and sounds hopeful when I ask if Tyson could beat his much younger rival. “I think so. I’ve seen clips of him training recently and he looks very good on the pads. But Jake is a fit man, a young man and a good athlete as well. He seems to have an OK punch and he’s starting to prove himself as a fighter. It’s very interesting, but I have a real soft spot for Mike Tyson.
“I think if you’re a boxing person, it really matters that he does well and hopefully wins because Mike Tyson is an absolute legend in sport. He was once known as the baddest man on the planet. He’s super exciting to watch, a real iconic boxer. I have so much respect for him for what he did in the sport and I’d hate for a legend like him to lose a matchup like this. He’s a hero to many of us fighters.”
Taylor and Tyson are seen as the away fighters on the bill as Serrano is promoted by Paul – whose company is staging the event in conjunction with Netflix. Their kinship has been strengthened by a long exchange they had before the first press conference back in May. “We had a great conversation and his knowledge of the sport is second to none. He’s a great boxing historian so having a chance to sit down and speak to someone who is so knowledgeable, and has a great mindset, was pretty special for me.”
She hates talk of retiring but Taylor laughs when I ask if she could imagine doing something similar when she is 58? “No! Once I do retire from the sport that will be it. I’ve been punched enough over the last 20 years.”
Some of us hope that Taylor, who has done more than anyone for women’s boxing, will soon choose life on the safe side of the ropes. But she talks seriously, and passionately, about her desire to keep fighting for a few more years. She wants “a very special” decider in a trilogy with Cameron and, she says, “there definitely are other people I’d love to fight. Alycia Baumgardner and Caroline Dubois are both fantastic fighters as well. It’s amazing to have so many options out there, isn’t it?”
Yet she now faces an extraordinarily difficult night against Serrano. Is she ready to go back into that dark and painful place where she was on that brutal night of their first fight? “I am very aware that I could go back into that place,” Taylor says. “That’s why I train so hard – to prepare for those fights. I’m in dark places throughout training camp, and the male and female sparring partners that I’ve had over with me these last few weeks have been phenomenal. I had to show a lot of heart during those sparring sessions and throughout. So this isn’t the first time I’ve gone through a dark place. I know what it feels like to dig deep and I am going to be prepared. I’m ready for this battle.”
Midway through the first fight, Taylor was in such trouble that it looked as if Serrano was about to stop her. “Afterwards people were talking about the fifth round and I was like: ‘What happened?’” Taylor says with a complicated smile. “I didn’t even realise what had actually happened. I was lost in the fight and, really, I’m just there to throw punches. But I think at the end of that fifth round, I was throwing punches back at her. My head soon cleared and I won the second half of the fight.”
Taylor loves to fight in the trenches but she has the skill to outbox Serrano if she follows a more tactical approach. “Yeah, I definitely do,” she agrees. “I just have to be more disciplined in doing it and that’s something that I’m trying to focus on. But I do realise that’s not the smartest move sometimes.”
She grins wryly but then shakes her head when I ask if she is concerned how the fight may be judged as this is a Jake Paul promotion in Texas. “That’s not something I ever think of,” she says. “It’s not the best thing for a fighter to be thinking of as you step into the ring. My job is just to fight and you obviously hope and pray that the judging is very fair. I just want the right winner to win the fight. But I have more important things to be focusing on.”
There is a purity about Taylor’s love of boxing and she approaches the fight game very differently to most. It’s striking that she and Brian Peters, who has managed Taylor since she turned professional in 2016, have never signed a contract to cement their working relationship. They prefer to rely on their mutual trust and the fact they are both boxing people to the core.
So it is easy for Taylor, who is deeply religious, to rise above the charade of Tyson against Paul and revel in the gravitas of her own fight. “I think our styles mix very well,” she says of Serrano. “She is obviously a great fighter. I love to box but I do get drawn into a fight like this one. Both our mentalities are that we’re going to do whatever it takes to win the fight so it’s going to be another explosive night. I’m just excited to go in there and perform because I think my best will beat Serrano’s .”
