Katie Taylor: 'I'm not going to start trash talk now because I'm very, very bad at it'
Katie Taylor at the Amanda Serrano Press Conference, London
KATIE TAYLOR says she will chalk off the last remaining name on her boxing bucket list when she finally takes on Amanda Serrano on April 30.
The undisputed lightweight champion will put her belts on the line against Serrano at Madison Square Garden in a genuinely groundbreaking fight for women's boxing. Not the smaller MSG Theatre, but the 'Main Room'.
The pair were supposed to collide back in 2020 during the first few months of the pandemic, which meant the suggested location for the clash was Eddie Hearn's back yard during his behind-closed-doors 'Fight Camp' series. Nearly two years on, a far more illustrious garden will play host.
When that initial fight fell through, Taylor beat the Belgian Delfine Persoon in their much anticipated rematch instead. And now the Bray ace has revealed that when she initially turned professional there were only two names she really wanted to fight.
“I'm actually so glad that fight fell through a couple of years ago,” Taylor said.
“The fight is bigger than it ever has been right now. It was going to be in his garden, then that fight fell through and I ended up fighting Persoon in the rematch.
"Ever since I turned pro I had my eyes fixed on two opponents: one was Persoon and one was Amanda Serrano. I've wanted this fight for a long, long time. I've always wanted to be involved in the toughest fights so this has been one I've wanted from the get-go.
“When I first spoke to Eddie Hearn about turning professional, I told him back then that I wanted to bring women's boxing to a place where the women were doing what they were doing in the UFC. Which was the likes of Ronda Rousey and those kind of girls headlining shows and becoming the biggest names in the sport. Here we are, headlining a huge bill at Madison Square Garden, the mecca of boxing.
“I was obviously hoping and believing that it would happen but I knew it would take a lot of hard work. We've definitely broken down a lot of barriers over the last few years and the fact that the pre-sale for this is the second highest in Madison Square Garden history says it all really. This fight is even more important than we realise.”
Taylor and Serrano yesterday came face-to-face in London on the second leg of their two-city press tour which started in New York last week. On the 42nd floor of London's Leadenhall Building in the centre of the Square Mile, the pair were nothing but respectful, even when Taylor dismissed Serrano's request to change the fight from 10 two-minute rounds to 12 threes.
Despite regular links to each other over the years – Taylor fought and beat her elder sister Cindy, for instance – they had never actually met before last week. Now they must be sick of the sight of each other.
Taylor laughed: “I think this is genuinely the most exciting fight in the sport and we both believe we're going to win the fight. It will be such an exciting fight and the relationship between us is very professional. We don't trash-talk and I'm not going to start doing that now because I'm very, very bad at it. We are respectful so we're looking forward to making history.
“There's history there, for sure. Obviously she has an amazing record. She has done amazing things in the sport and this has been dubbed as the biggest fight in women's boxing history and rightly so.
“I think there will be a huge Irish crowd. The couple of times I boxed at Madison Square Garden, the Irish were very loud and I saw flags all over the stadium. I'm expecting the same on April 30. It's strange how both of us proudly represent small countries that punch way above their weight in the ring.
“She's obviously standing on the Puerto Rican heritage of the likes of Miguel Cotto and Tito Trinidad, me on the likes of Lee McCullough, Barry McGuigan, Steve Collins and Carl Frampton, these kind of guys. We bring that heritage to a fight like this and it will feel like we've got our whole nations behind us.”
