Katie Taylor puts the pressure on Amanda Serrano
In her latest in-ring effort, undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor (19-0, 6 KO’s) made the fourth defense of her titles. In that contest, she pitched a shutout over Texan Jennifer Han. When the topic of her next opponent is brought up, the name Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (41-1-1, 30 KO’s) is never far behind. Serrano was just in the ring herself on August 29 picking up her own UD win against Yamileth Mercado.
In the aftermath of her dustup with Mercado, the Real Deal would express an interest in testing her wits with Taylor. First however, Serrano stated that she would first want to become the undisputed champion at featherweight. At this point though, the former Irish Olympian believes that the seven-division champion is merely providing lip service for the cameras. Her disbelief stems directly from Serrano’s past track record when it comes to this staging this bout.
PUT UP OR SHUT UP TIME
While the fight is something of a hot topic at the moment, it is far from a new subject. The two have agreed to fight a number of times since 2019. However, each and every time it’s been Serrano who has backed out. The Puerto Rican star has done so and cited location, pandemic and money as her reasons for reneging on the fight. This is why it’s very understandable why Taylor is skeptical of any talks of a fight at this point, as she told to IFL TV.
“I guess the ball is in her court, like I was saying this week. We were obviously scheduled to fight a few times before and I want the fight. But I guess it’s down to her, if she wants it as well. She says she wants it but it’s up to her to step into the ring.”
When pushed on the realistic chances of the fight, Taylor cited her own rationale for being skeptical.
“I’ll believe it when I see it, myself. The fight was scheduled a few times before. I was preparing for the fight and the fight fell through. Her and her team actually pulled out of the fight, not me. So there is nothing else that I can do I guess. We’re obviously willing and ready to fight whenever. It’s just down to her and her team.”
GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT
Serrano has made a habit out of leaping all over the divisions to make various fights happen throughout her career. Therefore, it would be a real shame if this bout was allowed to fall by the wayside. Yet, in boxing it’s never a good idea to put too much faith in a bout happening before the two combatants are in the ring. So, like Team Taylor, the boxing world will have to continue to wait for Serrano to get her mind right.
“That’s probably the most talked about fight in women’s boxing for the last few years, I think. So I absolutely do want that fight. I want all the mega-fights but that’s definitely the fight that people have been talking about more so than the others. So I hope it happens.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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