EDDIE HEARN IS set to sign Katie Taylor’s chief nemesis, Amanda Serrano, to a co-promotional deal with a view to making a women’s superfight between the pair in 2019, a source close to the deal has informed The42.
Six-weight world champion Serrano, whose elder sister Cindy barely landed a glove on Taylor at Boston’s TD Garden this day last week, will sign a three-fight deal with Hearn and fight live on his affiliated Stateside broadcaster DAZN, but will also remain contracted to current promoter Lou DiBella.
All going to plan, the third fight of that deal will take place against Taylor in the latter half of 2019.
The 30-year-old Puerto Rican Brooklynite [35-1-1, 26KOs] is one of three fighters — male or female — along with Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao to have won world titles in six separate weight divisions.
A fight between Taylor and Serrano has been mooted since the Irishwoman turned pro two years ago, but ‘The Real Deal’ — who is on record as stating she carries the power to knock Taylor out — recently announced she was defecting to MMA on a full-time basis. Serrano cited financial reasons and her perceived lack of exposure in women’s boxing as the predominant factors in the move.
However, she appeared to change her tune following Taylor’s victory over her elder sibling in front of nearly 7,000 fans in Beantown.
Congrats to @KatieTaylor for her win tonight against my sister Cindy. I Hope I get my shot I Promise it will be a Toe 2 Toe WAR! I’m Not moving nowhere! I think it will be 1 of the Biggest Female fights aside from @Claressashields vs Hammer. @loudibella Please Make It 🙏 pic.twitter.com/G2gHe1x0Xz
— Amanda Serrano (@Serranosisters) October 21, 2018
Speaking to this writer last week, Serrano’s manager, Jordan Maldonado — who confronted Taylor post-fight last Saturday proclaiming Amanda would knock her out following her facile victory over his wife, Cindy Serrano — expressed his frustration that Amanda’s historic sixth world title win was bumped off Showtime’s live telecast and relegated to a Facebook live slot, describing it as the final straw for his charge.
Maldonado indicated that he and Serrano were still “110% interested in facing Katie Taylor, with the greatest respect to Katie Taylor”, but couldn’t justify jumping back from the cage to the ring without the financial backing of a promoter like Hearn, “who respects women and female boxers.” For further context, he revealed that Serrano earned more in her second MMA fight — a second-round submission win a couple of weeks ago — than she has for any boxing bout over the course of her 37-fight pro career.
All of that is about to change, however, with Hearn expected to confirm another major move for women’s pro boxing at a press conference in New York later today.
The Matchroom Boxing head honcho intends to introduce Serrano to the masses over the next six months in order to garner maximum interest in a bona fide big one between the Puerto Rican-born puncher and Taylor next year.
Serrano is likely to make her debut on the DAZN platform early in the new year, The42 understands.
In her own interview with this publication prior to her latest world title defence, Katie Taylor wasn’t shy in firing a couple of barbs at the prodigiously talented Serrano, describing her as “mentally fragile” and suggesting the adopted New Yorker is “afraid to lose.”
At her post-fight press conference last Saturday, Taylor accused Serrano of “doing pretty much everything she can to avoid a fight with me.”
They are back on a collision course now, however, and theirs will likely be a seminal fight in the modern history of the women’s sport.
Taylor will return to the ring in December either in New York or London, where she and her team hope WBO World lightweight champion Rose Volante of Brazil will stand opposite for a world title unification scrap.
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