It was billed as a mega fight, the biggest in woman’s boxing history. It was a fight that was so monumental, it could only be staged at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden.
The sacred arena headlining a women’s boxing match for the first time in its 143 year history. It was a fight that had the big build up and all the hype, but it was a fight that lived up to all expectations and then some.
Over 20,000 adoring fans packed into MSG and witnessed a fight that will go down as one of the best ever. I mean, if you know about woman’s boxing and you know about these two warriors, you weren’t expecting much different.
But as we know, too often when two huge names come together and there is so much hype, expectation and legacy riding on a fight, it doesn’t always deliver. But thankfully, this was not one of those times.
You had Katie Taylor, the darling of Ireland and European boxing for the women. Backed, pushed and bankrolled by Matchroom and Eddie Hearn. A stand out amateur boxer who won gold in the 2012 Olympics in London.
The 35-year-old was unbeaten in 20 fights and holds the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring magazine female lightweight titles.
Then you have the Puerto Rican princess Amanda Serrano. A veteran of 44 fights, held no less than nine titles in seven different weight classes, a world record. Came up the hard way and punches even harder.
She is also a mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, who had been flying the flag for woman’s boxing for a very long time with no fanfare.
These two women couldn’t be more different in their journey’s but in a way, they are more similar than you could ever imagine.
However, styles make fights. Taylor is more speed and footwork, with combinations and a flurry of punches that can overwhelm her opponents.
Serrano is a heavy handed, walk forward fighter, who plants her feet and dominates her opponents.
You could feel the tension in the air as the fighters were showed on the big screens during the undercard fight.
The crowd were at fever pitch and the atmosphere was on a level rarely seen at a boxing event, let alone one where women are the main event.
It very much felt and had that big fight feel, you couldn’t imagine the type of pressure and nerves both fighters felt as they made their ring walks.
The fight started as it meant to go on, both Taylor and Serrano swinging from the first bell. Serrano pushed the pace early, walking forward trying to impose her will with heavy hooks.
Taylor fought well on the back foot, moving her feet and trying to connect with quick and precise fluffy of punches. The crowds were so loud, the fighters and the ref failed to hear the bell to end the first round and a few others after that.
It was debatable to say who won the early rounds. It’s whether you liked the walk forward aggressive style of Serrano, or the slick, fast, on the back-foot boxing of Taylor.
However, going into the 4th, it seemed Serrano’s punches were taking effect and Taylor looked psychically troubled every time Serrano connected.
The fight was almost over in the fourth as they went to war and swung it out. But Serrano’s heavier, accurate shots had Taylor in all sorts of trouble and for a second I thought she was about to get stopped.
Serrano piled on the pressure with body shots and hooks to the face that was catching Taylor it seemed at every attempt.
Somehow, someway, Taylor stayed upright and she was fortunate they only fight two minute rounds, as I am not sure she would have survived three minutes.
That said, it was a testament to Taylor’s heart, courage, toughness and desire to keep fighting and never give up.
However, Serrano continued to walk forward in the sixth, and Taylor was still looking physically troubled, you were thinking it could only be a matter of time before she gets dropped or stopped.
But Taylor survived the fifth and the sixth rounds in typical doggied fashion, tryng to fight fire with fire.
By the seventh and the eighth, it seemed either Serrano had taken her foot off the gas, or she had punched herself out a bit from the last few rounds.
This is where Taylor’s boxing ability and intelligence took advantage. As Serrano continued to saunter forward, Taylor started to time her and catch her with a flurry of punches in between Serrano’s swings and hooks.
These were scoring shots and it kept Serrano off her rhythm.
Going into the ninth, it was already a barnstormer of the fight and the crowd let them know it with a pulsating atmosphere throughout.
Both warriors continued to do battle, neither wanted to take any back steps, but it did seem Taylor was getting a foothold in the fight with her lateral movement and quickness.
Serrano however, continued to push the pace. I felt going into the last two rounds it was neck and neck, but the fifth round could be a factor with a possible 10-8 round, even though Taylor did not go down.
The last two rounds become a war of attrition, as both warriors continued their brutal battle, relentlessly swinging leather and not giving any ground. Again, these rounds were hard to score, it’s what you liked better.
The walk forward, almost zombie like style of Serrano, with her heavy hooks to the body and head. Or Taylor’s slick movement, with her quick and pinpoint flurry of straight eye-catching punches.
The final 30 seconds of the fight really epitomised this immense battle. Both women stood toe to toe, swinging and brawling, even catching each other several times until the very last second.
The fans showed their appreciation, the cheers were almost deafening as these two warriors emptied the tank and left in all in the ring.
All that was left was for the announcer to read out the judge’s decision, which was a 94–96, 97–93, 96-93 split decision victory for Taylor, who retained all the belts and remained the undisputed lightweight queen.
However, I did feel the scorecards was wide on Katie Taylor’s favour, but in the end, women’s boxing was the real winner.
Even though woman’s boxing has been on a rise as of late, this fight really cemented its place in the mainstream and let everyone know how good woman’s boxing is and can be.
This is undoubtedly a legacy fight and will forever be etched in women’s boxing history. No doubt a fight of the year contender.
So a massive congratulations to both Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano for putting their bodies on the line and leaving everything out there for our entertainment. Put some respect on their name and women’s boxing in general!
