Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano bring women's boxing to its highest stage yet

Not long after describing this Saturday’s lightweight unification bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano as the biggest ever women’s boxing fight, Matchroom Boxing president Eddie Hearn was asked a simple question — which bout will it be eclipsing?

"This is so far from anything else we've ever seen before,” Hearn said. “It's difficult to even tell you what came second."

Hearn landed on his client Taylor’s previous trip to New York, a 2019 win over Delfine Persoon as a co-main event to an Anthony Joshua headliner, but his sentiment has been apparent throughout fight week.

The hype is very real ahead of Saturday’s championship main event at Madison Square Garden pitting Taylor, the Irish Olympic gold medalist and unified champion, against Serrano, the Brooklyn-raised bruiser moving up two weight classes to bring the sport of women's boxing to its biggest stage yet.

“We’re making history together and I couldn’t be happier to share that ring with Katie Taylor,” Serrano said during a Thursday news conference. “No matter what happens Saturday night, I think the real winners are the fans and women in general and the sport of women’s boxing because it’s only going to grow from now on.”

Taylor and Serrano will become the first women to headline a boxing event in the 143-year, four-building history of the Garden, with each fighter earning a career-high seven-figure paycheck. The fight will stream live on DAZN. So far, 15,000 tickets have been purchased, and a sell-out is expected by fight night, Hearn said. He added that half of those were sold to fans coming from the United Kingdom and Ireland. About 200 media credentials were issued for the fight, said MSG executive vice president Joel Fisher, and the fighters made an appearance on “The Today Show” on Tuesday, a sign of the contest’s transcendent nature.

“I’m very, very proud of this event, this event definitely does feel different,” Taylor said. “There is a great appetite for big female fights. This is very special because it is the best vs. the best, champion vs. champion. This is just a great boxing match, not just the best female boxing match in the world, it’s probably the best fight you can see right now.”

Both Taylor and Serrano believe their fight’s increased platform will help raise the profile of the sport, allowing others to avoid the struggles and unfair treatment they experienced. Taylor hid her gender as an amateur because of Irish laws preventing women from being sanctioned in the sport, and later was crucial in lobbying for the addition of women’s boxing to the Olympic program ahead of London 2012, where she won gold.

“The best part about this fight, the best part about my whole legacy is just being able to inspire the next generation,” Taylor said. “This fight on Saturday night is going to inspire a lot of young girls.”

Serrano has been a professional for 13 years but said she was often left underpaid and unappreciated by promoters despite her championship pedigree. Now signed to Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, the Puerto Rico native is happy with her new standing.

“We’re making our biggest pay day, we’re at the mecca of boxing,” Serrano said. “It’s finally happened, we’re getting our shine.”

The fight was close to happening years earlier and again during the COVID-19 pandemic. All parties involved are glad they waited for a deserving time and venue.

“It’s definitely bigger now than it ever was before,” Taylor said. “We were going to fight during the pandemic in Eddie Hearn’s backyard, no people were going to be there in an empty backyard, so here we are in the most iconic venue in boxing and it’s going to be an absolute sell-out, so I’m very, very grateful."

By Ryan Gerbosi

ryan.gerbosi@newsday.comRyanGerbosi

Ryan Gerbosi is an internet news manager for sports at Newsday.com. He also covers NYCFC and mixed martial arts and believes the designated hitter should be banned from baseball.