Katie Taylor has hit out at Amanda Serrano’s push for three-minute rounds in their upcoming trilogy fight, aiming a dig at the Puerto Rican in the process.
In July, Taylor and Serrano will clash at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where the Irishwoman outpointed her rival in 2022 before replicating the result in Dallas last November.
Serrano, 36, is a four-weight world champion but failed to take the undisputed lightweight belts from Taylor, 38, in their first fight and the undisputed super-lightweight straps in their rematch. Their initial meeting saw the fighters take home the first seven-figure paydays in women’s boxing history, and their sequel was reportedly viewed by 50m people on Netflix, which will stream their third clash.
All the major super-lightweight titles will be on the line in July, as Taylor and Serrano again contest one of the biggest women’s fights ever, and they are again scheduled to box across 10 two-minute rounds. That is despite Serrano’s wish to have them fight for 12 three-minute rounds like men.
It is possible that the southpaw would also accept 10 three-minute rounds, or 12 two-minute rounds. In any case, the matter was debated at a press conference on Wednesday (9 April).
“At the end of the day, Amanda needs this fight a lot more than I do,” said Taylor. “I have a long history of big fights against big names, and a line of people queuing up to fight me for the payday.”
Serrano hit back: “You never wanted to do the three. You shook on it, not knowing if I was going to win or lose, Katie. I respect you and I will continue to respect you in and out the ring, Katie, but we did shake on it – not knowing.
“If you say that you call the shots, you could have called the shots that day. You shouldn’t have shook my hand if you wasn’t gonna... You know that if we have an extra minute [each round], it won’t go your way.”
However, Taylor responded: “I think the point of a three-minute round was to prove that you’d get more knockouts. How many knockouts did you get in your 12 three-minute rounds? Zero.” Taylor was referring to Serrano’s decision win over Danila Ramos in 2023, which actually played out across 12 two-minute rounds.
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano get HEATED in a back and forth at the #TaylorSerrano kick-off press conference 👀 pic.twitter.com/d4yznSUvm0
— Netflix (@netflix) April 9, 2025
Serrano disputes the outcome of both of her bouts with Taylor, the first of which was a split decision, and the latter of which was a unanimous decision. In the rematch, Taylor was docked a point for leading with her head, after she had badly cut Serrano with a punch earlier in the fight.
Their trilogy contest will headline an all-women’s card, also featuring Alycia Baumgardner and Ellie Scotney among others.
