This Great Fight at Madison Square Garden Will Make History
On April 20, 2022, Madison Square Garden to hosted one of the greatest events in its illustrious history. This fight will be the first time in 140 years of boxing history that two women will headline a combat sports event, and it will be the first time that two female boxers will headline a fight card at the World’s Greatest Arena. Plus, this match-up is the pound-for-pound №1 and №2 female boxers in the world.
Promoted by Matchroom Boxing and Most Valuable Productions, this boxing contest will determine the undisputed women’s lightweight world champion. Undefeated Irish boxer Katie Taylor will officially put her WBC, IBF, WBA, and WBO titles on the line against Puerto Rican star Amanda Serrano, a seven-division world champion.
Eddie Hearns of Matchroom Boxing told SportingNews.com, “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 the two greatest female fighters on the planet headline at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden.”
Initially, the promoters planned for a 2020 Taylor-Serrano fight at a Matchroom Fight Camp event. But COVID-19 and scheduling conflicts nixed that deal. Months of negotiations ensued before both sides struck a deal for a fight in Madison Square Garden.
Without a doubt, Taylor and Serrano are the top female fighters in the world at this time. Both have plenty of world championships titles to prove it.
Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor is a 2012 Olympic gold medalist with an impressive record (20–0, 6 KOs). She turned pro in 2012 and won her first lightweight title in 2017. After that, she went on a lightweight title-winning spree by defeating Victoria Bustos for the IBF title in 2018, Rose Volate for the WBO title in 2019, and Delfine Persoon for the WBC/The Ring crowns in 2019. In her last fight in December 2021, she won a unanimous decision over Firuza Sharapova. Presently, Ring rates Taylor the №1 pound-for-pound female boxer in the world.
After an outstanding amateur career, 35-year-old Taylor turned pro and signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. Hearn has promoted her career and featured her as the main event many times. Taylor told ESPN, “When I started, my goal was to be involved in huge events like this. Headlining at Madison Square Garden against Serrano, in the first women’s fight to do so, would truly be the pinnacle of the sport.”
Along with winning titles in multiple divisions, Taylor desires to help elevate women’s boxing to the level that UFC women already occupy. She wants to be like Ronda Rousey for women’s boxing and pave the way for more women boxers to shine in the limelight. This motivation drives her to use this opportunity to finish what Christy Martin and Deirdre Gogarty started. On the undercard of the 1996 Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno bout, Martin and Gogarty fought in the first major event in women’s boxing. Taylor also recognizes the tremendous contributions of women boxers like Ann Wolfe, Laila Ali, and Lucia Rijker.
Amanda Serrano
With multiple titles in at least seven divisions, the role of challenger doesn’t quite fit Amanda Serrano (42–1–1, 30 KOs). The Ring currently rates her as the №3 pound-for-pound female prizefighter.
The 33-year-old southpaw holds the unified featherweight world champion title, winning the WBO version in 2019, the IBO title in 2021, and the WBC in 2021. In addition, Serrano is the only woman with world titles in four or more weight classes. All told, she’s won nine major world titles in seven weight classes. In addition, she won her last fight against Miriam Gutierrez with a unanimous decision.
Serrano has an older sister who is also a professional fighter. Together, they became the first sisters to hold a major sanctioned world championship title at the same time. Serrano may have some extra motivation because Taylor beat her sister back in 2018. However, Serrano expressed her deepest feelings about the bout to SportingNews.com by commenting, “It is a dream come true to have the opportunity to headline Madison Square Garden and do so against one of the greatest boxers of all time in Katie Taylor.”
Serrano has partnered with Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotion. From the beginning of their union, Serrano has been a major player in Paul’s fight cards. In her last two fights, she shared co-billing with Paul.
Both co-promoters are excited about the prospects blooming from this historic sports event. In a press conference, Paul thanked Jim Dolan and the MSG team for making this bout possible. He also considers it an honor to collaborate with Eddie Hearn to make April 30 a special day in women’s boxing and silence the naysayers who believe women’s boxing is a sideshow. As he noted, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are exceptional champions who’ve dedicated their lives to this chance to advance their sport.
