Katie Taylor hailed as 'Ireland's greatest sportsperson' after Serrano win

Irish Daily Mirror

12-07-2025

Katie Taylor cemented her place as the greatest ever female boxer and arguably Ireland's best sportsperson of all-time by beating Amanda Serrano for a third time at the Mecca of Boxing.
On a night when herself and Serrano made more history inside Madison Square Garden, Taylor produced a performance for the ages on the biggest stage.
Streamed around the world on Netflix, the all-women's event broke the Guinness World Record for the number of world titles on the line on a single card, male or female, with 17 contested over the course of the evening.
A sold-out crowd of 19,721 packed into the iconic New York venue, with the gate and viewership set to smash records when the figures are released.
"It just means the world. Honestly, I can't believe that this is my life," a delighted Taylor said after beating Serrano by majority decision."I'm headlining a show in Madison Square Garden, all-female card. Looking back on the whole journey, what an amazing life."These are nights that I dreamed of as a kid and to be sitting here again as a winner, I'm so happy, so grateful."
Taylor successfully defended her super-lightweight world titles against her great rival, with two of the judges scoring the bout 97-93 to the Irish fighter. The other had it a 95-95 draw.
It was a dominant display from the 2012 Olympic champion, who kept Serrano at distance throughout the ten-round contest, carefully choosing her punches as the Puerto Rican failed to land much of her own.
Many expected Taylor to call time on her career after the trilogy fight, but she admitted she still wants that Croke Park bout.
When asked if she could ease her fans' minds by telling them she would fight in Ireland one last time, she responded by saying: "Maybe in Croke Park. That would be unbelievable."
Unfortunately, the chances of a Croke Park fight realistically taking place are slim at best.
Taylor's promoters Matchroom have explored the idea a number of times in recent years, but the cost of renting the stadium and the security costs that go with it have been massive stumbling blocks.
Without some sort of financial help from the government, it seems very unlikely that an event at GAA Headquarters will take place.
And the magnitude of the New York event would be very difficult to follow up, with Taylor saying she will make a decision on her future 'very soon'.
"Absolutely unbelievable to be part of a show like this and to be headlining an all-female card. It was an absolute privilege," stated Taylor.
"These are the sort of opportunities that people didn't think were even possible a few years ago."Just seeing the atmosphere, seeing 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 even any louder than the first time we were here, but it was an unbelievable atmosphere, amazing event and I'm very, very proud to be headlining such an important event for women's sport."
The win took the Bray native's record to 3-0 against Serrano following victories over her at MSG in 2022 and in Texas last November.
"'I'm just so grateful for Amanda Serrano. What an amazing champion and we created history together three times," Taylor said of the Puerto Rican.
"My name will always be embedded with hers forever. I'm very, very happy about that. What we've been able to create over these last few years has been unbelievable.
"It's amazing to have a rival like that in the sport and this has brought an event like this tonight, like an all-female card because of what myself and Amanda have been able to do, to produce over the last few years so I think both myself and Amanda are just sitting back very, very proud right now."
Serrano also paid tribute to Taylor, posting on X: "So blessed to have shared the ring with such an amazing fighter Katie Taylor. To be considered the greatest you have to act like one. She does that both in & out the ring. Thank you truly."
Promoter Eddie Hearn believes the win cements Taylor's legacy as the greatest female fighter of all-time - and he can see her continuing to fight.
"I feel like Katie could do another 20 or 30 rounds. She'll decide if she's going to fight again. For me, I think she's got at least 11 or 12 left, to be honest with you," he joked.
The victory saw Mike Tyson win a $1million bet with Serrano's manager Jake Paul, which the YouTuber-turned-boxer offered him ahead of the fight.
"Congrats to Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano on the trilogy fight on Netflix. Jake Paul see you at dinner to collect my million," the heavyweight great wrote on social media.
The second instalment of Taylor v Serrano came on the Tyson v Paul card last year.
Fellow Irish boxer Michael Conlan paid tribute to his former Olympic teammate, writing: "The greatest Irish athlete of our time. Congrats champ."
Many had Taylor clearly winning the fight, but Netflix's unofficial scoring had it as a 95-95 draw, which angered plenty of viewers.
"True champion without a doubt regardless of the totally biased production and narrative," former Ireland footballer Kevin Kilbane said afterwards. "Katie Taylor is our greatest sportsperson."