Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano trade mutual praise at NYC presser
The launch of the historic Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano lightweight championship bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden went just as planned. And very well planned it was. In a short presser broadcasted live on YouTube to the world, both fighters exchanged mild barbs, mutual praise and plenty of boilerplate remarks to start the promotion of […]
The post Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano trade mutual praise at NYC presser appeared first on The Ring.
The launch of the historic Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano lightweight championship bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden went just as planned.
And very well planned it was.
In a short presser broadcasted live on YouTube to the world, both fighters exchanged mild barbs, mutual praise and plenty of boilerplate remarks to start the promotion of what will surely be the biggest women’s boxing match of all time, which will take place in the main room of the iconic venue in what will be a first in its illustrious 140-year history. The event will be broadcasted live on DAZN on April 30 and it will also feature at least two other undisputed women’s boxing championship bouts.
“They deserve the stage, they deserve the payday, and they deserve to decide who’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world” said co-promoter Jake Paul, of Most Valuable Promotions, currently in charge of multiple titlist Amanda Serrano’s career. Paul also highlighted the importance of this fight for women’s boxing history before proceeding to read a list of top Hall-of-Fame-caliber former champions, and finished with a jab of his own when he said that “Bob Arum misspoke earlier this week (in a reference to Arum’s dismissive comment about the marketability of women’s boxing) and he will eat his words” on April 30.
In his introduction of Amanda Serrano (42-1-1, 30 knockouts), Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn said that “it doesn’t feel right to call you the challenger, after all of what you achieved,” in reference to Serrano’s multiple titles in at least seven divisions.
Serrano quickly turned to one of boxing’s classic lines when she said that “I don’t need to talk bad about my opponents, I do all the talking inside the ring” before delving into the historic nature of the event. “I respect Katie Taylor and what she’s done. We’re changing the sport. I am excited to be opening doors. We have to prove who’s the pound-for-pound best, because everyone has been asking for it,” said Serrano, who is currently rated No. 3 pound-for-pound by The Ring while Taylor occupies the No. 1 spot.
In her usual soft-spoken tone, Taylor replied that “ever since I turned pro I had my eyes fixed on two fights. One was (Delfine) Persoon and the other one was Amanda Serrano. So this is a fight I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time.”
“It’s incredible to see how far (women’s boxing) has gone in just five short years. We’re actually headlining at the Mecca of Boxing. This is history. All of our hard work has finally paid off,” said Taylor, who then quickly highlighted a fundamental difference between her and her opponent.
“We are both great champions. She has a great record and she is a great fighter. But I do believe that you look my names of opponents you will recognize a lot of names,” said the unbeaten Taylor (20-0, 6 KOs), implying that her stronger level of opposition is what brought her to this moment in her career in which she will be exposing her four major championship belts as well as the Ring magazine title in the lightweight division against Serrano.
Ring lightweight champion Katie Taylor speaks at the press conference ahead of her fight against Amanda Serrano on April 30, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Photo by Michelle Farsi for Matchroom/MSG Photos
The post Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano trade mutual praise at NYC presser appeared first on The Ring.