FEMALE BOXING GREAT Claressa Shields is picking Amanda Serrano to cause a mild upset when the Puerto Rican faces Katie Taylor either on the rescheduled date of 4 July or later this year.
Undisputed lightweight champion Taylor [15-0, 6KOs] and seven-weight world champion Serrano [38-1-, 28KOs] have been on a collision course since the Irish icon turned professional in the autumn of 2016, and had finally been set to square off at the Manchester Arena on 2 May before the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus torched the sporting calendar.
The bout — and the entire card, headlined by Dillian Whyte’s heavyweight clash with Alexander Povetkin — has been kicked two months further down the line, albeit even the tentative new date might seem like wishful thinking at this juncture.
Taylor and Serrano will, fitness and public health pending, eventually square off at some point this year, however, and three-weight world champion Shields reckons Serrano has what it takes to edge proceedings against Taylor, Shields’ fellow 2012 Olympic champion.
“I think that Amanda Serrano is stronger,” Shields told FightHype of the 31-year-old southpaw. “I don’t think that she’s more skilled — Katie Taylor’s skills, to me, are very high but her skills can kind of make her lack in other places like her power and her head movement and stuff like that.
I think she takes too many punches sometimes when she fights. I think Amanda Serrano has the power and has a good skill set herself to beat Katie Taylor by a 60-40 split. That’s me, personally.
“But I know Amanda Serrano punching hard!
You can tell from her fights that she’s punching hard. I’ve actually seen her fight in person and you can just see — like, she fought against Heather Hardy; Heather Hardy strong as shit and a tough girl, and she put her through hell. I thought the fight was over in the first round… I know Amanda Serrano can pop for real –like she can really punch.
“I respect her and I respect Katie. I feel like Amanda has god-given power like Deontay Wilder. She can knock people out.”
