Erick Rasco/Sports Illustrated
NEW YORK — Your winner, boomed the voice of David Diamante and from a few feet away Katie Taylor gazed straight ahead, expressionless. Six years after turning pro, five since she won her first world title, three since she became the undisputed champion at 135 pounds and here was Taylor, battered and bloodied after a hellacious, Fight of the Year–caliber war with Amanda Serrano, awaiting the judges’ decision.
Next to her. Serrano, the rugged, Puerto Rico–born, Brooklyn-raised seven-division world champion. Serrano didn’t pick up boxing until she was 18. If Taylor, the Olympic gold medalist, was bred for this moment, Serrano had to claw her way there, through fights in small ballrooms and on untelevised undercards, mixing in MMA matches to pay the bills until a young YouTube star came along with the goal of making Serrano a household name. She was the Marvin Hagler to Taylor’s Sugar Ray Leonard and now, like Hagler 35 years earlier, stood in the center of the ring wondering whether she did enough to win a decision.
And still, bellowed Diamante, immediately sending Taylor’s team into a frenzy. Taylor’s trainer, Ross Enamait, lifted Taylor into the air. In 2016, Taylor, her boxing career in shambles after an early exit from the Olympics, reached out to Enamait about training her. She moved to Connecticut and, in the quiet of a nondescript gym without a single picture of Taylor on the walls, rebuilt her career. And on Saturday, with thousands of Irish fans roaring inside Madison Square Garden, she added a crowning achievement.
“The best moment of my career,” Taylor said. “For sure.”
Make no mistake: The outcome of this fight mattered. Taylor, 35, and Serrano, 33, had circled each other for years. They nearly fought in 2020, in the most challenging days of the pandemic, when Eddie Hearn was staging shows in his backyard. They were two of the most accomplished fighters in women’s boxing, top three on Sports Illustrated’s pound-for-pound list, and the win by Taylor not only cemented her place atop it but enhanced her case to be called the greatest women’s boxer of all time.
More important, though, was that this fight happened. And how it played out. MSG has hosted boxing matches for more than a century. You won’t find many atmospheres better than last Saturday night. More than 19,000 (mostly) paying customers churned through the gates. For every Irish fan, a Puerto Rican one, for every “Olé, olé, olé olé” a “Yo soy Boricua” to drown it out. Women’s boxers, past and present, filled the arena, from Christy Martin to Laila Ali, Claressa Shields to Seniesa Estrada. This wasn’t a significant women’s fight. This was a significant fight.
In the ring, it was a classic. The biggest fight in women’s boxing history before Saturday was between Christy Martin and Deirdre Gogarty, who in 1996 earned a spot on the Mike Tyson–Frank Bruno undercard and made the most of it, waging a memorable six-round war. Taylor has referenced that fight often, not just the significance of it but the value of it being entertaining. If Martin-Gogarty was the bar, Taylor-Serrano leaped over it. Taylor entered the fight the more accomplished boxer. Serrano, despite being the naturally smaller fighter, the bigger puncher. A quiet first three rounds eventually gave way to a slugfest. In the fifth, Serrano’s pressure got to Taylor. She cornered Taylor, unleashing crushing combinations. For the final minute, Taylor stumbled on shaky legs.
“Probably stood there a little too long,” Taylor said. “Made it into a bit of a tear-up, like I always do, unfortunately. I got stuck in a fight with her.”
Taylor looked finished. Then, in the seventh round, she rallied. Taylor’s movement picked up. Entering the fight, Taylor’s legs were a concern. She had battled calf injuries in recent fights. Instead of sitting between rounds, for the first Taylor stood, a trick Enamait wanted to try to keep Taylor’s legs from cramping up. In the seventh, she caught a second wind. She matched Serrano’s connect rate in the seventh. She outlanded her, according to CompuBox, in the eighth. And in the ninth. In the final minute of the 10th round, Taylor and Serrano winged 142 punches, standing toe-to-toe right until the final bell.
“I dug deep,” said Taylor. “I showed that championship heart.”
Said Enamait, “She’s just built different.”
For weeks, Hearn called Taylor-Serrano “a moment in time,” and it was. It was when women’s boxing just became boxing. Taylor-Serrano wasn’t the best women’s fight of the year; it was the best fight. The fifth round was more compelling than many seen on the men’s side. From boxing to brawling, skills to power, Taylor-Serrano showcased it all, and they did it in front of the kind of crowd most men’s fights could never draw.
Said Serrano, “Women can sell, women can fight and we put on a hell of a show.”
Will we see another? A rematch seems natural. Taylor and Serrano each made in excess of $1 million for this fight. While there is talent in the lower weight classes, there are no opponents for either that are more appealing. Hearn suggested bringing the rematch to Ireland. Taylor has never fought professionally in her home country. A showdown with Serrano at Croke Park in Dublin would draw more than 80,000 fans. Jake Paul, Serrano’s promoter, said they were willing to go there. “We all want to see the best versus the best,” Taylor said. “A rematch would be absolutely phenomenal.”
Indeed. Taylor-Serrano exceeded all expectations. Taylor won, but Serrano didn’t lose. And women’s boxing, on the rise in recent years, is supercharged headed into the future. “People will be talking about what myself and Amanda Serrano did for years to come,” Taylor said. “This was a history-making fight.”
