What was billed as the biggest night in the history of women’s boxing somehow exceeded the breathless hype that preceded it. Whenever Katie Taylor was shown on the Jumbotron in the hours leading up to the main event on Saturday, the steady roar of the crowd jilted to ear-splitting volumes. It was the same for Amanda Serrano, only slightly louder. That crackling energy built throughout the evening, amid lusty singalongs of Wonderwall, Sweet Caroline and The Fields of Athenry, to the type of atmosphere not seen in the big room at Madison Square Garden since Félix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto.
And that was before the fight itself. And what a fight it was: high-intensity combat between two top operators over 10 white-knuckle rounds before a sold-out crowd divided by their allegiances but united in full-throated, well-lubricated enthusiasm.
“We were saying before that when you think of Madison Square Garden, you still talk about Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier,” Taylor said. “Now people will be talking about myself and Amanda Serrano for years and years to come. This is a history-making fight and it definitely lived up to the expectations.”
Whether the unforgettable encounter was a case of catching lightning in a bottle or the dawn of a new normal for women’s boxing, no one can say. Not every fight will have the benefit of featuring the world’s two best fighters regardless of weight. But this fight has laid down a new benchmark for what is possible with sustained investment.
“We billed this as the biggest female fight of all time,” said Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, who promotes Taylor. “And it became one of the biggest fights in boxing today. What we witnessed was one of the greatest fights in the history of Madison Square Garden.”
It was the night that women’s boxing has desperately sought and deserved for years: the first summit meeting between the consensus No 1 and No 2 on the men’s or women’s pound-for-pound list since the second fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Márquez in 2008. Organisers planned for a crowd of about 10,000, then were forced to reconfigure the seating to open the entire arena due to unanticipated demand.
For Taylor, who became a celebrity after winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics and was familiar to the public before turning professional, there was a sense her career was building to this. The 35-year-old from Bray is a proper athlete: whether unifying world titles or banging in wonder goals for Ireland’s national team, one gets the sense that she would be doing this even if there was not a pay cheque at the end of the day.
But for Serrano, who joined the paid ranks three years before women’s boxing was added to the Olympics and failed to benefit from the mainstream visibility it afforded, there was no certainty this night would ever come. At 33 the Puerto Rican native – now living in Brooklyn – captured world titles in seven different weight classes from 115lbs to 140lbs – one short of Pacquiao’s all-time mark of eight – but has been unknown to all but hardcore boxing fans for most of her career due to a lack of investment in female fighters by TV networks and promoters.
Even as Ronda Rousey was lifting women’s mixed martial arts from obscure sideshow derided by the UFC president, Dana White, to headline attraction, Serrano found herself relegated to the margins of a sport where men with résumés similar to hers are routinely among the world’s highest paid athletes. During the run-up to the fight, she recalled once being paid $1,500 to defend her world title.
No longer. And thanks largely to an improbable partnership with YouTuber-turned-boxer-turned-promoter Jake Paul, who has given one of boxing’s most decorated yet overlooked champions the promotional boost she has needed to reap the first seven-figure purse of her career by signing her to his nascent promotional company and having her fight on his undercardsr.
Women’s sports are having a moment, in case it has escaped notice. Only hours before the fight on Saturday, Lyon defeated PSG before a record crowd of 43,255 for a women’s Champions League game in France, setting the stage for a Champions League final showdown against a Barcelona side that drew 91,553 to the Camp Nou last month. On Friday, a sold-out crowd turned out for the debut of Angel City FC, the groundbreaking NWSL team disrupting ownership and commercial models through purpose-driven partnerships.
But ultimately, it is down to the product. And the immediate calls for Taylor-Serrano II in the aftermath of the fight will surely keep the momentum going.
Both Taylor and Serrano were open to the idea of running it back in Ireland, where Taylor has yet to fight as a professional. But Hearn said Madison Square Garden officials have already inquired about doing the rematch in New York in the autumn. Let the bidding begin.
“We all want to see the best versus the best,” Taylor said. “We’ve seen something special here tonight but imagine fighting in front of 80,000 or 90,000 people at Croke Park. Absolutely that can happen.”
