NEW YORK — In the 143-year history of Madison Square Garden, women in combat sports have never been on top of the bill. But, that changes on Saturday night when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano make the walk into the iconic venue and step through the ropes when they meet for the women's undisputed lightweight championship, live and exclusively worldwide on DAZN.
Taylor and Serrano have been everywhere drumming up interest in what is the most prominent women's boxing fight of all time. They have appeared on outlets CNN, Bloomberg and The Today Show. Female athletes worldwide have been applauding and championing what is about to happen inside "The World's Most Famous Arena" once the first bell sounds and Taylor and Serrano throw their first punches of this monumental moment.
The journey to Saturday's clash isn't lost on Taylor's promoter at Matchroom Boxing, Eddie Hearn. A father of two girls, Hearn fully understands the significance of what is about to happen on April 30, 2022 and knows it is something everyone will never forget.
"I was thinking the other day, this fight should inspire young females and girls that if you have a passion for something, if you believe in something, if you work hard, anything's possible," Hearn passionately told DAZN. "But actually, it’s bigger than that. I don't think we should limit that to young girls and young women. We should spread that word to everybody. Doesn't matter who you are. If you believe in something, if you've got a love for something, you got passion. If you want something bad enough, if you work hard, you can achieve it. These two are an inspiration."
The path to get here wasn't as easy as some think it was for Taylor. When she was younger, Taylor had to put on headgear and pretend she was a boy walking into Bray Boxing Club because her native Ireland didn't allow girls to participate in boxing. Finally, Taylor convinced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that women's boxing should be considered an Olympic sport. The IOC agreed, and Taylor captured Olympic gold at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Amanda passed the grueling sessions, and away she went. The native of Puerto Rico is women's boxing only seven-division world champion and is the current unified featherweight champion. But the paydays weren't there for Serrano as she was making little money and barely surviving. Enter Jake Paul, who became her promoter, and off she went towards the biggest fight of her career.
"The difference with these two is they were always told it was never possible," Hearn said. "There was always barriers. There was always doors closing on them when they tried to make their way. Katie Taylor used to go into her amateur boxing club, and she had to walk in with a head guard on to pretend she was a boy. She had to spar, and when she fought, she was fighting as Kay Taylor because girls weren't allowed to box. Amanda Serrano has been hustling on small shows for years to get to this stage. There's a real feel-good factor about this fight that these two deserve it. For me, it's an iconic moment because it's a moment that boxing and sport will never forget."
Hearn's promoted significant fights in his career. He's staged fights with Anthony Joshua in front of 90,000 people and at MSG, along with doing three fights with Canelo Alvarez, and the fourth will occur next Saturday on DAZN when the pound-for-pound king challenges WBA (super) light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. So to the 42-year-old promoter from the UK, this one holds special significance.
"I think this may be the biggest fight I've ever promoted for different reasons," Hearn boldly said. "I’ve done bigger crowds. We've made more money. There's been world heavyweight titles, undisputed male titles. But it's just that no one ever thought this was possible. I would say to Katie Taylor, on the way up, ‘One day, you’ll headline Madison Square Garden. We'll get that seven-figure paycheck, and the world will be watching.’ But did I ever really believe it? Maybe but she made me believe it, and she made it happen. I'll be very proud on Saturday when she walks out in front of a sold out MSG, and the world will stop to watch this fight. The attention, the buzz around this event is just getting bigger and bigger."