Taylor vs Serrano at Madison Square Garden
Katie Taylor has been stuck in limbo dominating the women's professional boxing circuit, awaiting an elite opponent. And now, she's finally stumbled upon greatness in Amanda Serrano.
Two of boxing's most skilful fighters are set to cross paths on April 30, 2022, in a contest that's evolved into the most highly anticipated women's bout in boxing history.
Goosebumps are guaranteed to sweep throughout the boxing community when these two go toe-to-toe, as a once in a generation fighter like Taylor has long sat cosy in her domineering position. However, could she have genuinely met her match in Serrano? A Puerto Rican star whose high-level attributes and countless knockouts have been chauffeured into the spotlight with the help of social media star Jake Paul.
Not only will these two ladies deliver a historical night in boxing, but they'll additionally break ground for women's boxing. Both Taylor and Serrano will receive seven-figure payouts, in addition to becoming the first women's contest to headline an event at Madison Square Garden. Furthermore, co-promoters Jake Paul and Eddie Hearn have already shared the pre-sale ticket success, which became the second-fastest in the history of Madison Square Garden.
New York, New York
Madison Square Garden has been the home of countless legendary championship fights. From Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis in the 50s, a pair of classic meetings between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, up to the modern-day heroics of Andy Ruiz Jr. knocking out Anthony Joshua as a 25-1 betting underdog.
The Garden was the epicentre of boxing masterclasses before Las Vegas became its contender in the 1980s, and once again, New York will make history when it hosts Taylor vs. Serrano.
With the legalization of online sports betting and the plethora of physical shops becoming available to the Big Apple residents, we should expect a considerable betting handle from a state that has quickly become the biggest market for sports wagering.
New York sports betting will be a massive factor for the fans when Taylor and Serrano meet, despite the difficulty of predicting the outcome. There's a reason why this contest is highly anticipated, and that's because of the skill levels involved – making it extremely challenging to predict a winner.
Taylor will enter the bout undefeated, and with her legacy on the line, she isn't going to give that up to Serrano easily. The challenger for the gold, Serrano, is a seven-weight world champion and is regarded as one of the best to lace up the gloves.
Tough Talk
During the events press conference at the beginning of February, confidence wasn't short from either camp.
"I've had my eyes on Amanda Serrano, and this is a fight I've been looking forward to for quite some time now. This is history right here. And all of our hard work is going to be paid off for at this time.", Taylor said.
"Women, we are changing the sport. I can't wait to share the ring with Katie Taylor. I have to thank my coach for not accepting the first couple of fights. He knew what I was worth, and now we are working with MVP. I don't need to talk bad about any of my opponents; I do all of my talking inside the ring.", commented Serrano.
Taylor is the current Undisputed Lightweight Champion. Those titles will be up for grabs when she faces Serrano, as the "Irish Sensation" looks to successfully defend her belts for a sixth consecutive time. Taylor dethroned Delfine Persoon to become world champion and since has defeated Miriam Gutierrez, Natasha Jonas, Jennifer Han, Firuza Sharipova, and Persoon in the rubber match.
Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing's promoter gave his opinion in a press release: "From the moment Katie Taylor stepped into my office, this is the moment we always dreamed of. The moment the world would stop and watch and watch the two greatest female fighters on the planet headline at the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden.", Heard said.
"Taylor vs. Serrano is a fight for the history books. Yes, it's by far the biggest female fight of all time, but it's also one of the biggest fights of all time, the undisputed World and Olympic champion against the seven division World champion.
"Both fighters deserve credit for getting this fight made, as does Jake Paul and his team at Most Valuable Promotions, DAZN and Madison Square Garden – together, we're going to put on a special night in New York and create a fitting spectacle for these trailblazers to shine."