KATIE TAYLOR WAS in uncharacteristically fiery form at Wednesday night’s press conference to launch her trilogy bout with fellow all-time great Amanda Serrano, describing the Puerto Rican as “embarrassing” and “delusional” and suggesting that Serrano should thank her for greenlighting a lucrative third bout between them considering the Irishwoman already leads their rivalry 2-0.
Taylor and Serrano will return to the scene of their original April 2022 classic, New York’s Madison Square Garden, to headline an all-female fight card on 11 July. As was the case with their equally enthralling rematch at Dallas Cowboys Stadium last November, Taylor-Serrano III will be promoted by Jake Paul and MVP Promotions, who steer Serrano’s career, and will be broadcast live to tens of millions of people worldwide on Netflix.
At Wednesday’s MSG press conference to launch what will decidedly be the biggest female fight of all time, Serrano wore sparring headgear during the face-off, an allusion to her post-fight allegations in Dallas that Taylor’s head was among her primary weapons.
The powerful Puerto Rican southpaw repeatedly claimed that she had won the initial rematch in November and criticised Taylor for reneging on her vow to face her over the men’s championship distance of 12 three-minute rounds, with July’s protagonists again due to meet over the conventional female distance of 10×2.
However, Taylor, the defending undisputed champion at light-welterweight, would have had to forfeit at least her WBC title in order to change the fight distance, and she stressed that challenger Serrano was in no position to “dictate” after narrow losses in each of their last two meetings.
CONTEXT‼️
Amanda Serrano showed up to the faceoff in headgear taking shots at Katie Taylor over her headbutts last fight. The tension is real. 😳
— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) April 10, 2025
“When I saw her come out with the headgear on, I thought that was actually quite embarrassing,” Taylor told reporters in a huddle after the public press conference. “I was like, ‘Seriously?’ This is embarrassing from her point of view.’
“She’s embarrassing herself, really. That’s so ridiculous.
“I don’t need this fight,” Taylor later added. “That’s the thing. She needs this fight a lot more than I do. So, she should be thanking me for this opportunity, really.
“I’ve already lost one of my champion privileges: she wants to walk to the ring second, she wants to be announced second. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
“But whatever,” Taylor laughed. “I don’t really care about that stuff. I just want to get in there, fight and perform. And after I win for a third time, I don’t want any complaints.”
The pair were in combative form on stage, too, occasionally butting in on each other as they argued the toss of their most recent classic in Dallas as well as the three-round distance issue, which has been a bugbear for Serrano throughout their rivalry.
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Serrano [47-3-1, 31KOs] believes that 12 three-minute rounds would give her a greater chance of knocking Taylor [24-1, 6KOs] out, albeit it could equally be argued that an additional 16 minutes of action would require a total change in tempo that might even suit Taylor, the entirety of whose glittering amateur career consisted of more patient three-minute rounds.
Taylor herself, meanwhile, argued that when Serrano did fight over the 12-round, three-minute distance against the 12-2 Danila Ramos in October 2023, she was able to win only on points.
“Listen, we shook on it,” Serrano said. “You can roll the tapes: we shook on it. She didn’t agree when we went to sign the contract.
“I believe women can do it, we are capable of doing it. So, if that’s her choice, then that’s her choice, but I believe that women should get the recognition and the equality that the men get.”
Taylor argued: “I think we shook on it depending on if you won the fight. But regardless, I think it’s a matter of principle that the challenger shouldn’t be dictating the terms of the fight.
“I’m 2-0 here and I’m in the driver’s seat. That’s only right at the end of the day. I have a long history of big fights against big names and a line of people queued up to fight me for the payday.
“You need this fight a lot more than I do, Amanda. You know that. At the end of the day, I think the point of [you fighting] three-minute rounds was to prove to people that you get more knockouts. How many knockouts did you get in your 12 three-minute rounds? Zero. They end up being boring fights.
“And [the fight against Ramos] wasn’t a good advertisement for 12 three-minute rounds for women. It was boring. So, I don’t think Netflix are too disappointed that this fight is a 10[-round], two-minute round fight.”
Both women were naturally bullish about their chances of success in July’s trilogy bout, with each of them stressing that they had come out on top in their initial rematch Dallas — a bout won via unanimous decision by Taylor but on the tiniest possible margins: 95-94 across the board.
Taylor said that she and Serrano had shared “two of the best fights in the history of boxing” and “two very, very close fights”.
“But I think that the margins at the top are always very tiny, but I did come out as the deserved winner,” Taylor added.
“I mean, she’s got her own opinions about the [Dallas] fight as well, but she has to respect the decisions. If you look at those fights, you can clearly see that I won those two fights.
“It’s insane. It’s ridiculous, really. It’s really, really insane that she thinks she won those fights.” Taylor went on to label Serrano “delusional.”
“Even with the ridiculous point deduction during that fight the three judges still saw it my way,” she added. “I was the deserved winner and here we are again having a silly conversation because you’re trying to create a narrative that you were robbed in that fight. That’s not okay, Amanda.”
Serrano argued: “This trilogy is granted because I feel like I won [the last] fight. Clearly.
“I think the world, the millions of people who were watching on Netflix, felt like I won this fight.
“Nonetheless, Katie Taylor is a great champion and I can’t wait to share the ring with her once again. The third time’s a charm for us here in New York. It’s a full circle coming back to New York and I’m just excited. I just have to be smart. I’m bringing in new people to my team and we have three months to go at it and train really hard and just tie up those loose ends.”
“[Amanda] is delusional…”
“…You can clearly see I won those fights…” - @KatieTaylor
— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) April 10, 2025
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who promotes Serrano and is again staging the event in conjunction with Netflix, was respectful towards Taylor as he made his sell to the public to tune in on 11 July.
He also claimed that Serrano would become “the highest paid female athlete in the history of all sports” in three months’ time, which is untrue, albeit she and Taylor are again set to smash the record for female-boxing paycheques just as they did in their previous two encounters.
“To Katie Taylor: we may be on opposite sides, opposite teams, but we are on the same team,” Paul said. “The side of goodness, the side of giving back, the side of God.
“You are a great champion and I appreciate having the opportunity to work with you again.
“To The GOAT, Amanda Serrano: you are the heart and soul of MVP. You are the warrior that the world watched last November fight through the cuts. You are the greatest Puerto Rican champion of all time and the leader of equality and above all, you’re an amazing human being who deserves every bit of success.
“Taylor vs Serrano 1 and 2 were two of the best fights in sports history and the trilogy will be even better. You do not want to miss this. The world will be watching.”
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Taylor says 'embarrassing' Serrano should thank her for opportunity of trilogy fight
KATIE TAYLOR WAS in uncharacteristically fiery form at Wednesday night’s press conference to launch her trilogy bout with fellow all-time great Amanda Serrano, describing the Puerto Rican as “embarrassing” and “delusional” and suggesting that Serrano should thank her for greenlighting a lucrative third bout between them considering the Irishwoman already leads their rivalry 2-0.
Taylor and Serrano will return to the scene of their original April 2022 classic, New York’s Madison Square Garden, to headline an all-female fight card on 11 July. As was the case with their equally enthralling rematch at Dallas Cowboys Stadium last November, Taylor-Serrano III will be promoted by Jake Paul and MVP Promotions, who steer Serrano’s career, and will be broadcast live to tens of millions of people worldwide on Netflix.
At Wednesday’s MSG press conference to launch what will decidedly be the biggest female fight of all time, Serrano wore sparring headgear during the face-off, an allusion to her post-fight allegations in Dallas that Taylor’s head was among her primary weapons.
The powerful Puerto Rican southpaw repeatedly claimed that she had won the initial rematch in November and criticised Taylor for reneging on her vow to face her over the men’s championship distance of 12 three-minute rounds, with July’s protagonists again due to meet over the conventional female distance of 10×2.
However, Taylor, the defending undisputed champion at light-welterweight, would have had to forfeit at least her WBC title in order to change the fight distance, and she stressed that challenger Serrano was in no position to “dictate” after narrow losses in each of their last two meetings.
“When I saw her come out with the headgear on, I thought that was actually quite embarrassing,” Taylor told reporters in a huddle after the public press conference. “I was like, ‘Seriously?’ This is embarrassing from her point of view.’
“She’s embarrassing herself, really. That’s so ridiculous.
“I don’t need this fight,” Taylor later added. “That’s the thing. She needs this fight a lot more than I do. So, she should be thanking me for this opportunity, really.
“I’ve already lost one of my champion privileges: she wants to walk to the ring second, she wants to be announced second. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
“But whatever,” Taylor laughed. “I don’t really care about that stuff. I just want to get in there, fight and perform. And after I win for a third time, I don’t want any complaints.”
The pair were in combative form on stage, too, occasionally butting in on each other as they argued the toss of their most recent classic in Dallas as well as the three-round distance issue, which has been a bugbear for Serrano throughout their rivalry.
Serrano [47-3-1, 31KOs] believes that 12 three-minute rounds would give her a greater chance of knocking Taylor [24-1, 6KOs] out, albeit it could equally be argued that an additional 16 minutes of action would require a total change in tempo that might even suit Taylor, the entirety of whose glittering amateur career consisted of more patient three-minute rounds.
Taylor herself, meanwhile, argued that when Serrano did fight over the 12-round, three-minute distance against the 12-2 Danila Ramos in October 2023, she was able to win only on points.
“Listen, we shook on it,” Serrano said. “You can roll the tapes: we shook on it. She didn’t agree when we went to sign the contract.
“I believe women can do it, we are capable of doing it. So, if that’s her choice, then that’s her choice, but I believe that women should get the recognition and the equality that the men get.”
Taylor argued: “I think we shook on it depending on if you won the fight. But regardless, I think it’s a matter of principle that the challenger shouldn’t be dictating the terms of the fight.
“I’m 2-0 here and I’m in the driver’s seat. That’s only right at the end of the day. I have a long history of big fights against big names and a line of people queued up to fight me for the payday.
“You need this fight a lot more than I do, Amanda. You know that. At the end of the day, I think the point of [you fighting] three-minute rounds was to prove to people that you get more knockouts. How many knockouts did you get in your 12 three-minute rounds? Zero. They end up being boring fights.
“And [the fight against Ramos] wasn’t a good advertisement for 12 three-minute rounds for women. It was boring. So, I don’t think Netflix are too disappointed that this fight is a 10[-round], two-minute round fight.”
Both women were naturally bullish about their chances of success in July’s trilogy bout, with each of them stressing that they had come out on top in their initial rematch Dallas — a bout won via unanimous decision by Taylor but on the tiniest possible margins: 95-94 across the board.
Taylor said that she and Serrano had shared “two of the best fights in the history of boxing” and “two very, very close fights”.
“But I think that the margins at the top are always very tiny, but I did come out as the deserved winner,” Taylor added.
“I mean, she’s got her own opinions about the [Dallas] fight as well, but she has to respect the decisions. If you look at those fights, you can clearly see that I won those two fights.
“It’s insane. It’s ridiculous, really. It’s really, really insane that she thinks she won those fights.” Taylor went on to label Serrano “delusional.”
“Even with the ridiculous point deduction during that fight the three judges still saw it my way,” she added. “I was the deserved winner and here we are again having a silly conversation because you’re trying to create a narrative that you were robbed in that fight. That’s not okay, Amanda.”
Serrano argued: “This trilogy is granted because I feel like I won [the last] fight. Clearly.
“I think the world, the millions of people who were watching on Netflix, felt like I won this fight.
“Nonetheless, Katie Taylor is a great champion and I can’t wait to share the ring with her once again. The third time’s a charm for us here in New York. It’s a full circle coming back to New York and I’m just excited. I just have to be smart. I’m bringing in new people to my team and we have three months to go at it and train really hard and just tie up those loose ends.”
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who promotes Serrano and is again staging the event in conjunction with Netflix, was respectful towards Taylor as he made his sell to the public to tune in on 11 July.
He also claimed that Serrano would become “the highest paid female athlete in the history of all sports” in three months’ time, which is untrue, albeit she and Taylor are again set to smash the record for female-boxing paycheques just as they did in their previous two encounters.
“To Katie Taylor: we may be on opposite sides, opposite teams, but we are on the same team,” Paul said. “The side of goodness, the side of giving back, the side of God.
“You are a great champion and I appreciate having the opportunity to work with you again.
“To The GOAT, Amanda Serrano: you are the heart and soul of MVP. You are the warrior that the world watched last November fight through the cuts. You are the greatest Puerto Rican champion of all time and the leader of equality and above all, you’re an amazing human being who deserves every bit of success.
“Taylor vs Serrano 1 and 2 were two of the best fights in sports history and the trilogy will be even better. You do not want to miss this. The world will be watching.”
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