Katie Taylor has endless praise for Amanda Serrano: ‘Amanda is a great champion, phenomenal warrior’

By: Hans Themistode

From the moment Amanda Serrano wrote her name on the dotted line, Katie Taylor knew she was going to have a tough outing. However, despite entrenched in an grueling eight-week training camp and despite her nearly 10 years of experience at the highest levels, Taylor was provided with everything she could handle.

In the main event frame at Madison Square Garden late last night, both Taylor and Serrano engaged in an all-out fight. At first, it seemed likely that Taylor would have little or no trouble boxing the former world number seven player from the outside. However, as the rounds began to pass, Serrano began to find his rhythm again.

To the cheers of her Puerto Rican crowd, Serrano closed the gap with Taylor in fourth place. In the fifth round, with momentum in his corner, Serrano made his best round. During that time, Serrano fought off Taylor with his muscles and landed maliciously after the malice hit. Despite Taylor’s efforts to squeeze and hold, Serrano continued to attack her.

After heading in the following round, Taylor bounced back superbly as she boxed when she could and fought when needed. In the 10th and final round, Taylor smashed his gloves and met Serrano in the middle of the ring. From there, the two unleashed countless attacks. While Taylor’s leg appeared to be bent at various stages during the final exchange, the former Olympic gold medalist bit down on her mouthpiece and proceeded to hand it over to her.

In the end, an excited Taylor screamed in glee as she was handed a decisive victory. When the moment in the sun officially arrived, Taylor decided not to pat herself on the back. Instead, she is willing to pay attention to her unbelievable opponent.

Taylor told a group of reporters after her win last night: “I have to dig in there tonight. “I had to produce a career-defining performance to really win. Amanda is a great champion, an incredible fighter. We certainly got the best out of each other.”

As month to week and week to day, the anticipation of Taylor vs. Serrano is increasing day by day. However, while this is widely regarded as the greatest female fight before, Taylor isn’t sure if it usurps what she considers the biggest moment of her career.

In 2016, Taylor proudly represented Ireland at the Olympic Games. Standing proudly on the podium with a gold medal, Taylor always believed that the Olympic moment would be the pinnacle of her career. Even when she eventually won the world title and became the undisputed champion, Taylor refused to put any professional record above her Olympic timing.

However, in terms of the extent of her bout with Serrano, becoming the first female boxer to top Madison Square Garden, and the eventual non-stop action that followed, Taylor’s fondest memory has been take place.

“It was definitely the best night of my career. I’m not sure if anything can come close to my Olympic gold medal moment but tonight was absolutely the best night of my career.”