Katie Taylor: 'This is going to be a career-defining night'

When the Irish boxer and her Puerto Rican opponent finally touch gloves on Saturday, April 30 it will be the first time a female fight has headlined at the so-called Mecca of boxing.

“The excitement from everyone has been unreal, really,” Taylor told the Irish Examiner.

“You can really feel the history in the making of this fight. It’s iconic. I’ve sacrificed my whole life for this sport and it’s amazing that I have an opportunity to be in a fight of this magnitude.”

Quickly scrambled together, the kick-off event at MSG was a joint effort by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport, Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and the streaming service DAZN to begin the three-month process of selling out this first-of-its-kind sporting event.

“I’m not used to having press conferences three months out from the fight,” Taylor laughed afterwards.

“They’re trying to really build it up, obviously, but this is fantastic. Even looking up at the posters here. It’s really cool. I’ve been really pinching myself since the fight was announced a couple of weeks ago. The Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden. This is really the stuff of dreams.”

Before gaining notoriety for his insertion into the world of pro boxing, popular Generation Z personality Jake Paul was a self-described content creator.

During the press conference, he joked about spending his days producing Tik Toks whereas the fighter he manages, Serrano, doesn’t even have a phone.

But his mission here is a serious one — elevating women’s boxing and paying two of its biggest stars reportedly seven figures for facing off under the most intensive spotlight in the fight game.

“They deserve this stage,” said Paul. “They deserve this historic payday and they deserve to figure out who is the best fighter in the world.”

Paul also took a moment to slam Bob Arum, saying the legendary boxing promoter would “eat his words” after reacting to this pairing earlier this week by saying “people don’t particularly pay attention to the women’s fights”.

The boxing world watched the Taylor-Serrano drama unfold almost two years ago when Covid and, subsequently, concerns in the latter fighter’s camp ultimately led to Taylor questioning her preferred opponent’s motives, who she said was giving “excuse after excuse after excuse”.

Serrano alluded to that August 2020 withdrawal, citing how her coach knew her worth but the plan now was to leave any exchanges to the ring.

“I don’t need to talk bad about any opponents,” the Puerto Rican said. “(Taylor) has opened the door for women’s boxing so no bad words but in the ring it’ll be different.”

For Taylor’s part, she took a moment to reiterate the tale of the tape when it comes to the fighters they have each faced over the years.

“I think this fight is the most genuinely exciting fight in the sport — not just female boxing,” Taylor said. “Not just because of our records but I believe our styles will gel well.

“We’ll produce top-class boxing for the fans. This is exactly why we’re here. We’re both great champions and she has a great record. She is a great fighter. We’re both going to go into it believing we can come out victorious.

“But when you look down the list of fighters I have beaten, you’ll see the likes of (Jessica) McCaskill, the likes of (Delfine) Persoon, the likes of (Natasha) Jonas among others. You’ll also see a lot of top class amateur boxers — that will all stand to me. We’ll both go into it in the best shape and may the best fighter win.”

This will be Taylor’s third time fighting at Madison Square Garden but of course her first as a headliner. She beat Finland’s Eva Wahlstrom here in December 2018 and also enjoyed the first of two victories over Belgium’s Delfine Persoon at the iconic venue.

All in all, this will be her sixth pro fight on US soil where there have been two Brooklyn wins in the summer of 2017 and the spring of 2018 as well as a success over Serrano’s older sister Cindy at the home of the Boston Celtics late 2018.

“I have been reflecting on the past few years since I turned pro and how the attitudes have changed to women’s boxing,” Taylor said.

“The first time I had a meeting with Eddie Hearn, we didn’t know how this journey was going to go. But here we are a few years later with the biggest night in female boxing history. It’s just incredible.

“I remember going into that meeting and thinking I wanted him to change the face of women’s boxing. Thank God, we ‘re in a position now where we are all game-changers.

“This is the sort of legacy that I’ve dreamed of leaving to the sport.”

Of course, organisers will be hoping that the Irish and Irish-American communities of the New York area will come out in force on April 30, not to mention a few trans-Atlantic fight fans who have already been inquiring.

“I obviously have had the privilege of fighting here twice before,” said Taylor, “and each of those two times, there were plenty of Irish flags around the arena. I hope they come out again.

“It’s an honour to be part of such a historic moment. This is history right here. All of our hard work has paid off. This is going to be a career-defining night.”