Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano previewed their bout and went face-to-face at the kickoff press conference ahead of their trilogy fight. The pair battle it out at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 11. The contest headlines the all-women’s boxing fight card, live on Netflix.
Two-division undisputed champion Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) of Ireland defeated former undisputed featherweight champion Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs) of Puerto Rico on both occasions. Their first fight in April 2022 at the same venue ended in a split decision. The rematch, held last November at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, also went the full 10-round distance, resulting in a unanimous decision.
Making her ring appearance in July, 38-year-old Taylor makes the second defense of her undisputed super lightweight title. 36-year-old southpaw Serrano looks to avenge two previous defeats and once again become champion. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds.
Serrano and Taylor went back and forth about why their third fight wasn’t going to be 12 three-minute rounds. Serrano fought and defeated Danila Ramos in a 12-round matchup in October 2023 to retain her unified 126-pound IBF, WBA, and WBO titles. Prior to the event, she vacated the WBC belt, as the sanctioning body wouldn’t give the green light to a 12-round contest.
“Listen, well we shook on it [with Taylor],” Serrano said. “If you can roll the tapes, we shook on it. She didn’t agree when we went to sign the contract. I believe women can do it, we are capable of doing it as you saw.”
“WBC said no, so I had to give up one of my babies. I worked hard for that belt – I worked hard for all my belts. They decided they weren’t going to go with it, so I had to give it up. I had to go with what I believed in and I believed in the 12 threes. So if that’s her choice then that’s her choice, but I believe that women should get the recognition and the equality that the men get.”
Taylor said she was calling the shots and that Serrano needed their third fight more.
“I am 2-0 here and I’m in the driver’s seat,” Taylor said. “That’s only right at the end of the day. Amanda needs this fight a lot more than I do. I have a long history of big fights against big names and a line of people queued up to fight me for the payday. You need this fight a lot more than I do, Amanda. You know that.”
“At the end of the day, I think the point of [you fighting] three-minute rounds was to prove to people that you get more knockouts. How many knockouts did you get in your 12 three-minute rounds? Zero.”
In Taylor vs Serrano 3 undercard action
The press conference also featured the fighters battling it out on the Taylor vs Serrano 3 undercard. Detroit-based Alycia Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs) of Fremont, Ohio defends her undisputed super featherweight title against interim WBA 130-pound titleholder Jennifer Miranda (12-0, 1 KO) of Spain.
Newly signed to Most Valuable Promotions, undefeated Ellie Scotney (10-0) of England faces Yamileth Mercado (24-3, 5 KOs) of Mexico in a super bantamweight championship unification. Scotney brings to the ring her unified IBF and WBO belts, while Mercado puts her WBC title on the line.
Another championship unification pits Dina Thorslund (23-0, 9 KOs) of Denmark against Shurretta Metcalf (14-4-1, 2 KOs) of Dallas, TX at bantamweight. Thorslund is a unified WBC and WBO champion, while Metcalf is the current IBF titleholder.
Also on the card is a middleweight bout between Tammara Thibeault (2-0, 1 KO) of Canada and Mary Casamassa (6-0, 1 KO) of Pittsburgh, PA.
The Taylor vs Serrano 3 undercard is also expected to feature other recently signed MVP athletes, including Elizabeth Oshoba (5-2) of Nigeria, Somalian-British Ramla Ali (9-2, 2 KOs), unbeaten Natalie Dove (4-0) of Philadelphia, and undefeated Naomy Valle (14-0, 9 KOs) of Costa Rica. The full lineup is expected to be confirmed shortly.