'If we want equality why not?': Amanda Serrano wants to fight Katie Taylor over 12 rounds

Amanda Serrano hasn't given up on her hope  to fight Katie Taylor over 12 three-minute rounds next April

Amanda Serrano reacts after beating Austria’s Eva Voraberger in their WBO super flyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden in January 2019. Serrano’s sister Cindy was beaten by Taylor in 2018 but warns the Irishwoman she presents a very different challenge. Picture: Sarah Stier/Getty

Amanda Serrano could have been accused of grandstanding on Monday when she chose her press conference monologue to challenge Katie Taylor to change the duration of their groundbreaking April fight there and then.

From her top table high above central London, the Brooklynite suggested that she and Taylor agree beneath the glare of the media spotlight to fight over 12 three-minute rounds when they finally meet on April 30 in Madison Square Garden.

While others may have felt prickled by such a suggestion and agreed to it without thinking, Taylor calmly rejected the offer.

It seemed like little more than a mind game from Serrano, who has already signed a deal for their fight to be over 10 two’s as is customary. Taylor saying ‘no’ therefore, meant mind game won.

But Serrano insisted it was more than a mind game and she really meant what she said.

“Listen, we want to make a stand,” Serrano said, long after the last tripod had been disassembled after the press conference.

“We want equality — we’ve been talking about equality for this whole week.

“It was no disrespect to Katie but I think that we have the platform right now, the eyes, the media, looking forward to this fight.

“If we want equality why not start here?”

This fight, the first women’s fight to headline at Madison Square Garden, would certainly be the perfect place to start. Promoter Eddie Hearn is expecting a full sell-out after the venue experienced the second biggest pre-sale for tickets in their history.

Serrano, therefore, wants to use the lofty platform to break more ground for the women.

“I wasn’t asking for a penny more,” she added.

“I wanted, honestly, to be equal — that’s 12 rounds of three minutes. I train for three minutes — I sparred 18 three-minute rounds before my last fight. We are capable of doing it so I think we need to take a stand. I want us to be the first.”

Serrano has been a champion in a staggering seven weight divisions from the 140lbs light-welterweight title all the way down to super-flyweight (115lb). Astonishingly, in September 2018 she weighed in at 138.5lbs before beating Yamila Esther Reynoso to win the WBO light-welterweight title. Then, less than four months later, she weighed in 114.25lbs before winning the WBO’s super-flyweight titles in January 2019.

In the second of those victories, the hard-hitting southpaw knocked out Eva Voraberger in just 35 seconds. Indeed, she has 30 inside-distance wins from her 42 professional victories marking her out as one of the biggest punchers in women’s boxing.

It has been suggested, therefore, that three-minute rounds would suit a pressure fighter of her ilk in this fight against Taylor. The extra 60 seconds would give her a better chance of stopping the current undisputed lightweight champion.

Serrano said: “If you see any of my fights, a lot of people say that if I had an extra minute on every round it would be over and I’d have a lot more knockouts than I have now. But it could be beneficial for Katie as well. We will never know until we do it. The fight contract is signed but we’ve got 12 weeks — all we need is a little copy and paste and a new signature. I’m not sure why she said no. I just want to make a stand — we’re already making noise — but it would be the icing on the cake to show we’re capable of doing it. We’re not the weaker sex, we can do what men do.

“I’ll continue to push this but the excuses are rolling in. I’m going to keep trying so if it happens it happens. If it doesn’t it’s still history in the making.”

Almost as soon as Taylor turned professional following her heartbreak at the 2016 Rio Olympics, her name was linked with Serrano and as she told the Irish Examiner on Monday, she highlighted the New Yorker as one of her top targets.

They’ve since orbited each other without ever really crossing paths, even as Taylor beat up the elder Serrano sister, Cindy, over 10 painful two-minute rounds in Boston in the October of 2018. Cindy, 39, has not been seen in a boxing ring since but 33-year-old Amanda has now got her chance for family revenge.

“I know the capabilities of my sister and she wasn’t in the best shape of her life for that fight,” Serrano said. “Me and my sister are two different fighters — we’re like day and night. She’s going to have faced two different Serranos.

“We knew this fight with Katie was going to happen because it was constant — after every fight it was always ‘how about Taylor?’ People didn’t realise that yes I am a seven-division champion but I’m a natural featherweight. I get called out by people at 154lb and 108lb! No I’m not superwoman, I can’t do all those weights. I’ve won titles at 135lbs so it was always a question about Taylor. We knew it was going to happen.

“I first heard of Katie Taylor when she turned pro out of the Olympics. I didn’t watch the Olympics but when she started making noise with Eddie [Hearn], people started talking about her, that’s when I took note. I was there at the Barclays when she boxed there and of course, I was there when she fought Cindy (her sister). I was in her corner.”

The pair nearly met in 2020 in a fight on Eddie Hearn’s back lawn but Serrano pulled out. It would have been huge then but it does feel like something seismic now and the challenger believes there is no better time to take on Bray’s 35-year-old superstar.

“It was good then but I think now is even better,” she said. “My IQ as a person and a fighter has increased, I’ve accomplished more. I’ve grown as a fighter and I’ve grown my value. Now is the best time to fight — we’re headlining now. This is our moment.”