NEW YORK - Katie Taylor has accomplished more in her boxing lifetime than just any other female in the history of the sport.
Still, the 2012 Olympic Gold medalist, two division and undisputed lightweight champion still felt the need to check another box heading into her next fight.
Her results-driven mentality led to the resurrection of a superfight with record-setting, seven-division titlist Amanda Serrano, which plays the main room at Madison Square Garden in New York City (Saturday, DAZN, 7:30 p.m. ET).
“Ever since I turned pro, I had my eyes fixed on two fights,” Taylor said of her long-term goals established at the start of her five-plus year career. “One was Delfine Persoon and one was Amanda Serrano. This is a fight I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time.”
Ireland’s Taylor (20-0, 6KOs) landed a dream fight with Persoon in this very venue, claiming a ten-round, majority decision to fully unify the lightweight division in their June 2019 undisputed lightweight championship clash. Taylor claimed Persoon’s WBC belt while defending her WBA/IBF/WBO titles, having since made five successful defenses of the undisputed crown, all coming after a one-stop trip to junior welterweight belt where she outpointed Christina Linardatou to win the WBO belt in November 2019.
All five undisputed title defenses have come since the pandemic, beginning with a repeat win over Persoon (46-3, 19KOs) in August 2020. The fight came in lieu of a targeted showdown with Brooklyn’s Serrano (42-1-1, 30KOs), which was due to take place that May before losing the fight date to the pandemic and with negotiations hitting a wall in efforts to reschedule.
Taylor continued to remain active, with a ten-round win over Firuza Sharipova last December 11 marking her fifth title defense in a span of less than 16 months. The 35-year-old Irish superstar has made 12 overall title defenses since winning the WBA lightweight belt in October 2017—less than a year into her career after finishing her second Olympic tour in 2016 Rio.
The one that has been missing managed to make its way to the forefront. The fight with Serrano has taken on new meaning, serving as the first female headlining act at MSG and with roughly 17,000 expected in attendance.
“I feel like since the fight was announced, I’ve been able to sit back and reflect,” notes Taylor. “It’s incredible how far this sport has come in the last five short years. We’re headlining at Madison Square Garden and it’s being called the biggest fight in female boxing history.
“It’s such a privilege to be part of such an historic moment. This is history right here, all our hard work is paying off.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
