Best rivalries in sports: Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor fight adds a punch

USA Today

11-07-2025

Amanda Serrano speaks with authority. Katie Taylor speaks barely above a whisper.
The Puerto Rican Serrano is a 36-year-old southpaw. The Irish Taylor is a 39-year-old fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Together, they've formed a sizzling rivalry in the boxing ring, earning them a spot among some of sports greatest rivalries.
It'll be on global display July 11, 2025.
Fighting each other for the third time, Serrano and Taylor will square off in the main event during an all-women's card at Madison Square Garden to be televised by Netflix.
The first two fights were electric, with Taylor winning both by decision even though the outcome could have gone either way. Jabs, hooks, uppercuts. Non-stop action. Fightin until the final bell.
The big winner, as is the case with rivalries, is the fans.
Here's a look at some of the greatest sports rivalries through the years:
Ford vs. Ferrari
A 98-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes in the first evidence that Ford vs. Ferrari deserves a spot among greatest sport rivalries. Few of them inspire films that star Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
Ford vs. Ferrari in real life was even better.
In 1963, bad blood led Ford Motor Company to build a race car that would challenge Ferrari. Which at first seemed about as plausible as the Cleveland Browns building a Super Bowl contender. Or the Washington Wizards building a NBA championship team. Or the Colorado Rockies … OK, you get the drift.
Yet Ferrari's superiority drove Ford in a way only a rival can.
In 1966, Ferrari had a six-year winning streak at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That year, Ford finally beat Ferrari, when the Ford GT40s finished 1-2-3 and a rivalry was born.
Ford vanquished Ferrari yet again the following year at LeMans.
Kobe vs. Shaq
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who played together for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2004, proved that being teammates does not preclude a rivalry.
Neither does winning.
They pulled off a three-peat together, leading the Lakers to the NBA championship in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Yet it would have been a stretch to call them friends.
The rivalry was born on the basketball court – especially at practice – where O'Neal lacked the discipline, drive and leadership that defined Bryant.
The partnership ended in 2004 when O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. Though O'Neal won another NBA title in 2006 with the Heat and Bryant won NBA titles in 2009 and 2010, no amount of Larry O'Brien trophies offset the loss of a special rivalry.
Ohio State vs. Michigan
In 2017, A self-described Ohio State fan posted on social media video of him mowing the script Ohio on the lawn of a Michigan fan.
Cute, but there's not much cute about the rivalry on the football field.
Woody Hayes vs. Bo Schembechler. 'The Shoe" vs. 'The Big House.'' Scarlet and grey vs. maize and blue. Any confusion over this sentence should might earn residents or Ohio or Michigan removal to another state.
It's a rivalry that lives and breathes on the football field and obsesses the adjoining states.
Losing sting.s But losses against this rival? They burn.
The inaugural clash between the two schools took place in 1897, when Michigan fans' lawns were safe. It's lost no luster since. Michigan entered this year's game as a 19 ½ point favorite, and the Wolverines prevailed 13-10.
Going on to win the national championship was Ohio State's consolation prize.
Joey Chestnut vs. Takeru Kobayashi
Joey 'Jaws'' Chestnut stood 6-1 and weighed over 200 pounds.
Takeru 'The Tsunami'' Kobayashi stood 5-8 and weighed 130 pounds.
Together, at an astounding pace, they devoured hot dogs and buns on the world's biggest stage – the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York. The timing of the annual contest accentuated their differences – an American man competing against a Japanese man in front of a largely American crowd on the Fourth of July – that helped stoke their competition.
The rivalry was hotter than anything Nathan's was grilling on the day of the contest. Five years of hot dog eating madness.
From 2005 to 2009, Chestnut and Kobayashi stood on the same stage and went head to head. Twice Kobayashi won in regulation. Twice Chestnut won in regulation. Once they went into overtime, with Chestnut prevailing in a five hot dog eat-off in 2008.
Two years later, Kobayashi left the contest over a contract dispute. Last year Chestnut was barred from Nathan's because of his own contract dispute. And so the great rivalry was renewed.
Jaws and a bulked-up Tsunami went head-to-head one last time with Netflix livestreaming the contest. It was no contest. Chestnut ate a world-record 83 hot dogs. Kobayashi at 66.
Afterwards, on stage, they did not shake hands. They did not exchange a glance. The rivalry still burned.