Katie Taylor, the undisputed champion and the underdog 

A view of a billboard outside Madison Square Garden advertising the fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano with the Empire State Building in the background. Pic: ©INPHO/Gary Carr

For a woman who has already walked into a hostile bearpit and emerged with a scalp, the conditions in New York are unlikely to prove intimidating. Nevertheless, the odds are against Katie Taylor.

The latest evidence of that came atop the Empire State Building as fight week got underway on Tuesday. YouTuber-turned-boxer and promoter Jake Paul positioned himself behind the face-off and his fighter, Amanda Serrano, holding the super lightweight straps that are on the line. Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, stood nearby clapping while reminding everyone that the showdown was set to take place on Friday night.

This is an MVP show. They are the ones who brought streaming giant Netflix along, they organised this all-female boxing card with a remarkable 17 titles up for grabs across five bouts. Their first year signing was Serrano. The investment in that star and their long-term plan to let her shine was always going to lead to a night like Friday at the famed Madison Square Garden.

When the trilogy was first announced, Taylor was installed as the favourite, having edged the last two fights. That has since flipped. Serrano’s advantage comes with her punch volume and power, something she is adamant wasn’t accurately recognised by the judges previously.

Later at the Oculus at World Trade Center, two enormous inflatable figurines of Taylor and Serrano loomed above the open workout ring. Outside lightning and torrential rain attacked the city of dreams. The temperature indoors anywhere without full-throttle air conditioning was sweltering. The Lovin' Spoonful were onto something. Hot town, summer in the city.

Katie Taylor at Open Workouts, Oculus World Trade Center, New York City, USA. Pic: ©INPHO/Gary Carr

Taylor made the walk first to the tune of Dreams by The Cranberries. That was a deliberate decision.

“I am just so excited to be headlining such a huge, iconic moment like this,” she said.

“I didn’t think it was going to get any bigger than the last fight but here we are, headlining an all-female card in such an iconic venue, Madison Square Garden, this is the stuff of dreams.” 

There were various endearing moments to emphasise that. Taylor brought four young fans into the ring with her. One opted to shadowbox beside her before leaning into the mic to declare her affection: “I love Katie.” Another performed some Irish dancing while her friend, dressed head to toe in Donegal green and gold, clasped the corner of the tricolour.

Serrano came after and looked at home. Earlier, fellow Puerto Rican boxers Krystal Rosado and Elise Soto had taken part in officially sanctioned bouts in the ring. They returned with Serrano, until eventually a five-strong army were all ducking and swinging at the same time.

The seven-division world champion held her arms out to acknowledge this legacy. Earlier this year, the 36-year-old signed a lifetime agreement with MVP that will last for the rest of her professional boxing career and then continue in retirement. It has already been agreed she will become chairwoman of MVP's women's boxing initiatives.

Despite the justified criticism of what was an absolute circus co-main event last time in Texas, MVP do deserve credit for the stage they have set this week. The undercard includes their new signee, former undisputed champion and current WBC interim world champion Chantelle Cameron (20-1, 8 KOs) who takes on Canada’s Jessica “The Cobra” Camara (14-4-1, 3 KOs) in a 10-round women’s WBC interim super lightweight championship bout. Cameron is the only fighter to have defeated Taylor in the pro ranks. After the rematch, she split with Eddie Hearn, taking issue with his celebrations in Dublin.

There is no doubt she would relish the prospect of settling that score in a winner-takes-all trilogy and it now looks far more likely than it ever did in the aftermath of the 2023 3Arena clash. Alycia Baumgardner is another recent MVP signing. She meets Jennifer Miranda in an undisputed super featherweight bout on the card and has her sights set on the main event winner. In total fighters from nine countries are involved.

A whole host of tickets were still available early in the week, varying from $50.00 for the back of the bleachers to $2,500 for the ‘Diamond VIP package.’ It is a show that Serrano is proud to headline. She wants to lead the way.

“Listen, the struggle that me, my team, my sister, Jordan (Maldonado), I don’t want these girls to go through what we went through,” she said at the public workout.

“The struggle was real. We were getting paid 50 dollars, 100 dollars. It was pretty sad. Obviously, we were doing the same thing and fighting just as hard but not getting what we deserve.” Not that she is letting the buzz distract from the task at hand.

"I am all in. I am dialled in. Can’t wait for Friday night or Saturday night when I am back in Puerto Rico celebrating.” 

A chance to make up for two close calls, a night of coronation and celebration for MVP and a proud champion from Bray who will be more than happy to spoil the party.