Katie Taylor on Amanda Serrano trilogy and making history in New York City

Irish Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

When Katie Taylor steps into the ring in a fortnight to take on Amanda Serrano for a third time, she will do so safe in the knowledge that her legacy as a legend of the sport has long been secured.
A true pioneer of the sport, the Irishwoman has literally seen the sport grow from being borderline banned in most parts of the world, to an Olympic sport, all the way to it being a gigantic industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
So after decades in boxing, it seems fitting that perhaps her final night in the sport will also be one of the biggest in her career as she looks to end her trilogy with all-time great Serrano 3-0. The Bray Bomber will be 39-years-old when she fights at Madison Square Garden on July 11th, headlining an historic all-female fight-card that will be streamed on Netflix to millions of people around the globe.
Rumours have swirled suggesting that the 2012 Olympic Champion is planning on hanging up her gloves regardless of July's result, but as she spoke to assembled members of the Irish media this month, Taylor insisted that she loves the grind now as much as she ever has.
'I always tend to enjoy my training camps, and that's one of the reasons that I've been able to keep going for so long as well,' says the defending Undisputed light-welterweight champion.
'I love the progress of the training camp and just to get your mindset right, the ups and downs of the training camp, but I love all that, the preparing for battle, preparing for fights, and I've always been that way.
'I love the fact that I get to do something I love every single day.
'And even though sometimes I wake up and I'm not in the mood for training, I'm still so grateful to be in this position and, and I think that that's that's definitely one of the reasons why I've been able to stay at the top for so long - because of this passion I have that I have for my sport.'
For the past few years, fans and pundits have been looking for signs of age catching up to Taylor. And while there were hints that she wasn't the same fighter she used to be in her first win over Delfine Persoon and loss to Chantelle Cameron, she turned back the clock last November to deliver arguably her finest moment in boxing as she fought tooth and nail with the brawler Serrano on her way to victory in front of a gigantic crowd at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
'I think that was definitely one of my best performances. I love the fact that I was able to push her back and outfight her.
'I think the first fight I outboxed her, the second fight, I actually outfought her.
'I actually recently looked back on that fight and, if you turn the commentary off, it's actually a very, very clear win for me. I won the second fight a lot more convincingly I think than the first fight.
'There was no controversy there whatsoever. I think obviously the commentary makes it controversial, but I was very, very happy with that performance, but there's still more I can do as well, which is very positive for me.
'It was a great performance, but I feel like I still haven't shown my best, and that for me is very, very exciting.'
The controversy in question refers to the numerous head clashes that took place during the bout. Both Taylor and Serrano collided heads on numerous occasions, with one exchange causing a huge gash on the head of the Puerto Rican.
Taylor was even deducted a point after one of those clashes, but even with that deduction, she still picked up a deserved unanimous decision win.
Serrano's camp were left fuming at the judges scorecards and have essentially declared victory for themselves in the months following the contest. Taylor pays little attention to what she dubs the 'whining and complaining' of Team Serrano, though the point deduction and suggestion that she used her head intentionally still irks her.
'That was a ridiculous point deduction for sure, and it's amazing how the judges unanimously had (the win) for me, even with the point deduction.
'All the complaining about the headbutts, that's what happens a lot of times when a southpaw fights an orthodox fighter, you just clash heads, and her head hit my head as well.
'I also got a cut from that.That was actually uncomfortable for me as well, but it wasn't anything that I could stop, but just we both came together, we clashed heads and to get a point deduction…there was no head clash during that moment.
'It was a ridiculous point deduction, but I can look back and smile now because I came out as a winner regardless.'
But do those complaints from camp Serrano motivate Taylor even more?
'Not really.I really couldn't care less about what the other team is saying to be quite honest. Regardless of what you say, I am still 2-0 here.
'I just want to be involved in the biggest fights possible, and after the last fight, I knew that myself and Serrano was still the biggest fight out there.
'People were talking about it, people were interested in seeing a third fight, and because of that, I wanted to step back in there again.
'I don't need this fight, she does.
'I just want to be involved in these big fights and to have a chance to be a part of an all-female card in Madison Square Garden again, live on Netflix, this is a one in a million kind of opportunity.
'I feel very, very privileged and blessed to be in this position, really.'