'I can't believe this is my life' - Taylor ponders retirement after finishing Serrano saga on top

The 42

2 days ago

KATIE TAYLOR SAYS she is uncertain as to whether or not she will fight again after she ended her rivalry with Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden, New York, with a third victory over the Puerto Rican.
With a more calculated, clinical performance than her all-action efforts in their previous two classics, Taylor earned her most decisive win over her fellow generational great. Judges Nicolas Esnault and Steve Weisfeld scored the contest 97-93 — or seven rounds to three — in the Irishwoman's favour, rendering judge Mark Lyson's contentious 95-95 tally irrelevant.
Taylor said afterwards that her gameplan for Friday night's trilogy bout at The Mecca of Boxing was to forbid Serrano from setting her feet, with her own 39-year-old legs bewildering the Puerto Rican power-puncher as Taylor outboxed her opponent from range.
In a lower-octane fight than her first two meetings with Serrano, Taylor punctuated her superiority with superb ninth and 10th rounds, moving the result virtually beyond doubt by the final bell.
'I knew I was capable of a performance like that in the other two fights as well, but I just got caught up in a bit of a war in the other two fights,' said a beaming Taylor during her post-fight press conference. 'I'm so happy that I was able to stay disciplined tonight, just outbox her. I made the fight a lot easier for myself.'
Shortly after her hand had been raised in the ring, Taylor had been asked by Netflix interviewer Ariel Helwani as to whether she could guarantee that she would return to the ring in future. The undisputed light-welterweight champion was, for the first time in her storied career, non-committal.
When she appeared in front of a large gathering of media roughly an hour later, Taylor was again asked if Friday's victory may prove her last as a professional boxer.
'I don't know,' she replied. 'I'm just going to enjoy this victory right now; sit back, reflect, and I'll make a decision on that soon.
'But I'm very, very happy with tonight's performance. Just the amount of work we put in over the last few months, myself and Ross [Enamait]. It's a cruel few months of preparation for these kinds of fights and I'm so glad that I was able to showcase what I could do tonight.
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'I wouldn't say I have anything left to prove,' Taylor added. 'I'm going to sit back and relax. Like I said, I'll make a decision on whether I will fight again in the future.'
Taylor didn't entirely rule out the possibility of one more fight back in Ireland to reward the fans who have spent their 'hard-earned money' to travel to support her throughout her legendary career.
'It just means the world,' Taylor said of the number of Irish fans who were in attendance at the sold-out Garden for an all-female fight card on Friday night.
'Just seeing the atmosphere, the amount of people that came out to support an event like this… The atmosphere was absolutely electric again tonight. I didn't think it could get any louder than the first time we were here (in 2022) but it was an unbelievable atmosphere, an amazing event. I'm very proud to headline such a important event for women's sport.
'Honestly, I can't believe that this is my life,' Taylor admitted. 'I'm headlining a show in Madison Square Garden, an all-female card.
'Looking back on the whole journey, what an amazing ride. These are the nights I dreamed of as a kid. To be sitting here again as a winner, I'm just so happy. I'm so grateful.'
When it was put to Taylor that England's Chantelle Cameron, against whom she has a 1-1 record in the pros, might prove the last viable opponent should she decide to return for one last dance down the line, the Bray woman picked up where she had left off during uncharacteristically fiery media obligations throughout fight week in New York.
Cameron, like Serrano, has not hidden her discontent at her defeat to Taylor at the 3Arena in November 2023. But she has nowhere near the same profile as the Puerto Rican, and a rubber match against the former champion from Northampton would, for the moment, prove decidedly less lucrative than Friday's headliner at MSG.
'I think Chantelle has to see if she can sell out a 1,000-seater arena first,' Taylor said. 'I don't think she can sell out any stadium at all, so I think I made her more money than she really deserves to be quite honest.'
The door, then, is not yet fully closed, but the end of one of Irish sport's greatest careers has certainly moved a lot closer.