Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are focused on victory but aware of their legacy

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano will be focused on securing a victory at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday evening, but both women are also aware of the influence their trailblazing careers will leave behind.

“The greatest part about this journey is just being able to inspire and impact the next generation of female fighters,” Taylor, 23-1 (6 KOs), said at the final prefight press conference at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving on Wednesday. “When I started boxing at nine or ten years old, there [were] no female fighters at all in the boxing gyms in Ireland. But every single boxing gym I walk into now is packed with female fighters… that’s what legacy is all about, really.”  

 “My goal is to motivate and inspire these young girls, the new generation in this sport, that you can do anything you put your mind to,” added Serrano. “If you believe in yourself, have a great team, you can go far… When I say how much I make, it’s not bragging, it’s to show these women that we can make it. We are capable of making it. We are capable of breaking records and just strive for excellence and you will achieve it.”

Taylor and Serrano,  47-2-1 (31 KOs), engaged in a ten-round war at Madison Square Garden in April 2022. Serrano had Taylor badly hurt and seemingly in trouble in the fifth round, but the Irishwoman recovered to eke out a split decision and retain her lightweight titles. 

“I think for every single fighter, we’re always prepared for moments like that,” said Taylor. “That’s why we train so hard. When you’re in shape, when you’re fit, you recover so well from those moments. And I take a lot of reassurance and a lot of confidence from that because I took her biggest shots and […] I wasn’t moved. I won the second half of that fight. So I take a lot of reassurance going into the rematch because of that.” 

Even so, there was no shortage of observers who felt that Serrano had done enough to edge the contest. Taylor, unsurprisingly, was firm in her conviction that she deserved her victory.

“I believe that I won the last fight clearly and I’ve just got to go in there Friday night and beat her again,” she said. “I put my body through the trenches over the last few months and it’s an absolute privilege to be here on the same card as a legend in the sport. It’s absolutely an amazing opportunity that we both have, and I just can’t wait to step in there and showcase what I can do again and get another win.”

Their first fight was for Taylor’s lightweight crown; the rematch, which is the co-main event to 58-year-old Mike Tyson’s quixotic attempt to defeat 27-year-old Jake Paul, will be for her undisputed 140-pound championship. After making one more defense of her lightweight crown, Taylor moved up a division to challenge champion Chantelle Cameron in May 2023, but fell short and suffered her first professional defeat before avenging it with an impressive performance six months later.

Serrano, who has won titles in seven weight classes, dropped back down to featherweight, where she is unified champion, and will be making a sizeable weight jump to take on Taylor again.

“A lot of people don’t acknowledge that I am going up through three divisions being the unified featherweight champion,” she said. “It’s always hard for me and uncomfortable when I have to leave my weight class where I feel comfortable at. [I’ve had] to eat a lot more protein, a lot more carbs just to make sure that I feel good at the weight. I’m hoping that I can make at least the 138 tomorrow, but it is what it is. I’m chasing greatness and that’s going up three divisions to face Katie Taylor once again, and I will be victorious.”

Despite the confident talk on both sides, there is clearly mutual respect and a recognition that the two are forever yoked together – and that, for a younger generation of female pugilists in particular, they are an inspiration.

“I think what me and Amanda have done over these last few years, inspiring that generation of young fighters, is the best thing we could leave behind in this sport,” said Taylor. “An absolute privilege.”

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcasted about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.