Katie Taylor steps back into the ring in Texas on July 20th against an old foe, the Puerto Rican-born New Yorker Amanda Serrano. The bout, scheduled to take place in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys, will be the second meeting of the two, Taylor winning their first bout on a split decision at Madison Square Garden in May 2022.
Taylor and Serrano are the co-main event on the Texas card with former heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson facing Jake Paul in the other headline act.
Typical of Taylor and Serrano, the pair are again taking women’s boxing into new territory with the capacity of the stadium set at 80,000.
A two-weight undisputed champion, Taylor steps into the ring for the first time since beating England’s Chantelle Cameron at super lightweight last year in Dublin’s 3Arena, Cameron having claimed victory in their first meeting, also in Dublin in May of the same year.
QPR’s Jimmy Dunne finds solace in football after emotional week
In a country of such staggering wealth, no one should have to queue for free food
Samantha Barry: ‘There’s not a moment where I’m not representing Glamour. I don’t get to switch it off’
Former Tory minister Steve Baker: ‘Ireland has been treated badly by the UK. It’s f**king shaming’
Few are taking the Tyson fight against Paul as a serious boxing event, although it is expected to be a large draw in terms of public interest in much the same way as Conor McGregor’s meeting with Floyd Mayweather in Nevada in 2017 was a critical flop but huge financial success.
Tyson, who served a prison sentence, has acted and held one man shows since he stopped boxing, will be 58 in July, with Paul, an American YouTuber and professional boxer, 27-years-old.
The card is promoted by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and will be aired live on Netflix with no paywall. Taylor is promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and Serrano by MVP.
Taylor v Serrano 1 was the first women’s boxing match to headline at the famous mid-Manhattan venue and more than lived up to its billing as one of the best bouts of the year, male or female. It was a bruising 10 rounds for both fighters with Serrano finishing strongly and claiming to have won.
Neither fighter took a step back in the high tempo meeting that frequently brought the largely Irish crowd to its feet throughout the night.
“This is the rematch the world has wanted to see, and I’m delighted that it’s finally happening,” Taylor said in a statement. “The first fight in New York was obviously an epic occasion and it more than lived up to the billing, and I’m sure the rematch will be no different.”
Taylor will put her undisputed lightweight titles on the line as Serrano comes up three weight divisions from featherweight to meet the Irish champion. The 35-year-old southpaw has lost just twice in 49 bouts, Taylor, following a glittering amateur career during which time she was European, World and Olympic champion, losing just once in 24 bouts to Cameron.
The fight will take place over the same distance as the last time they met, 10 two-minute rounds. It will be the first time Taylor has fought professionally in Texas and while she received a huge Irish following in New York, Texas will be expected to provide a bigger Latin American crowd.
“I promised my fans they would see this rematch after we made history at MSG and it feels like a dream come true to know that Katie and I are finally making it happen on the biggest stage possible to show the world what elite women’s boxing is all about,” Serrano said in a statement. “I believe I won our first fight, but I didn’t get the decision, so this time I’m not leaving it to the judges.”
Serrano has been keeping busy and has won her last four fights in Manchester, New York, Dallas and Orlando since losing to Taylor. But she was forced to withdraw at the 11th hour from her last scheduled bout in December having been declared medically unfit due to an eye injury.
In her last outing the 35-year-old earned a unanimous decision win over her mandatory WBO challenger Danila Ramos, making history as the first-ever women’s unified world championship to be fought over 12, three-minute rounds, equal to men’s championship fights.
“While my focus continues to be on giving women the choice to fight with the same rules as men, I’ve always said that this is the one fight I’d go back to 10x2 for if that’s what Katie wanted,” Serrano said. “I’m coming for her belts, she wants 10x2, so that’s what we will do.”
It is likely to become the most viewed women’s boxing event in history. The streaming giant has a global audience of 260 million. The first bout drew a record 1.5 million viewers on DAZN and the rematch could eclipse that figure especially with Tyson on the same bill. Tyson lost in his last professional fight to Ireland’s Kevin McBride in 2005.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
