NEW YORK – “A moment in time” is what Eddie Hearn calls it. While Hearn, the promoter of record for Saturday’s lightweight showdown between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, is supposed to be hyperbolic about his fights, the statement rings true. Everything about Taylor-Serrano screams event, from appearances on the Today show to glossy magazine profiles (read ours, by the way) to the hundreds of credential requests to attend the first women’s boxing match to headline Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday, Taylor and Serrano made the obligatory trip to the Empire State Building, which will light up with Irish and Puerto Rican colors on Saturday.
It’s an event but it’s also a fight. Taylor and Serrano represent the best of women’s boxing. “A 50-50 fight” is what Taylor called it, and she’s right. That’s often the case when two top pound-for-pound fighters get in the ring.
Speaking of: Before Taylor and Serrano step into the ring, here’s a look at April’s women’s boxing pound-for-pound rankings.
Courtesy of Matchroom
1 – Katie Taylor
Record: 20–0
Last fight: UD win Firuza Sharipova
Next fight: 4/30 vs. Amanda Serrano
Taylor, 35, once one of boxing’s most decorated amateurs, has enjoyed a meteoric rise since turning pro after the 2016 Olympics. She won a world title in her seventh fight, became a unified champion in her ninth and needed just 14 fights to become the undisputed champion at 135-pounds. Taylor, who picked up a title at 140-pounds in 2019, is a significant draw, both in the U.K. and stateside. Against Serrano, Taylor will attempt to pick up the biggest win of her career—and make her case to be known as the greatest women’s boxer of all time.
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2 – Claressa Shields
Record: 12–0
Last fight: UD win Marie Eve Dicaire
Next fight: Ema Kozin
How dominant has Shields been since turning pro in 2016? The two-time Olympic gold medalist has claimed undisputed status in two weight divisions (154- and 160-pounds) while collecting a pair of titles in a third (168). Six years after turning pro, Shields, 27, is barreling towards her biggest fight to date: A middleweight showdown against Savannah Marshall, the hard hitting 160-pounder—and the lone woman to ever beat Shields in a boxing ring.
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3 – Amanda Serrano
Record: 42–1–1
Last fight: UD win Miriam Gutierrez
Next fight: 4/30 vs. Katie Taylor
Serrano’s resumé is impressive. She’s a seven-division world champion who effortlessly bounces between the 115 to 140-pound weight classes. Consider: In 2018, Serrano beat Yamila Esther Reynoso to win a vacant title at junior welterweight. Four months later Serrano dropped down to super flyweight to knockout Eva Voraberger and claim another belt. Saturday’s showdown with Katie Taylor will give, Serrano, 33, the opportunity to knock off the women’s No. 1—and elevating herself to the top spot in the process.
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4 - Seniesa Estrada
Record: 22–0
Last fight: UD win Maria Micheo Santizo
Next fight: TBD
Estrada’s rise over the last three years has been remarkable. In 2019, Estrada defeated ex-U.S. Olympian—and arguably women’s boxing’s best 112-pounder—Marlen Esparza. Last March, Estrada dropped down to 105-pounds to defeat long-reigning titleholder Anabel Ortiz. In July, she moved up to 108-pounds to take a second title off Tsunami Tenkai. Finally, in December, Estrada completed a three-fight year by stopping Maria Micheo Santizo, successfully defending her 105-pound belt. Mixed in, Estrada recorded the fastest knockout in women’s boxing history, a seven-second obliteration of Miranda Adkins. Estrada has been locked in a contract dispute with Golden Boy but still hopes to fight three times in ’22—and will be a sought after free agent if they can’t come to an agreement.
5 – Jessica McCaskill
Record: 11–2
Last fight: TKO win Kandi Wyatt
Next fight: 6/25 vs. TBD
Entering 2020, McCaskill was a solid fighter known for a pair of wins over ex-titleholder Erica Farias and a competitive loss to Katie Taylor. A close win over longtime reigning welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus earned McCaskill four 147-pound belts and a lopsided win in the rematch stamped her as one of the best in women’s boxing. Big opportunities could be coming in ’22, with McCaskill, 37, lined up to face the winner of a planned fight between unified junior welterweight titleholders Chantelle Cameron and Kali Reiss, a showdown that would pit undisputed champions in two weight divisions against each other.
6 – Mikaela Mayer
Record: 17–0
Last fight: UD win Jennifer Han
Next fight: TBD
Mayer, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, continues to build momentum. She won a vacant 130-pound title in 2020 and picked up another last year, defeating Maiva Hamadouche in a fight that headlined an ESPN show. Last month, Mayer defended her titles in a wide decision win over Han. Mayer hopes to unify the division this year—Alycia Baumgardner, whom Mayer has sparred with on social media, and Hyun Mi Choi hold the other two belts—before moving up, perhaps to face the Taylor-Serrano winner.
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
7 – Savannah Marshall
Record: 12–0
Last fight: TKO win Femke Hermans
Next fight: TBD
Marshall, 30, turned pro in 2017 with a significant name on her amateur resumé: Claressa Shields, whom Marshall outpointed in 2012 at the World Amateur Boxing Championships, the lone blemish on Shields’s boxing record. Marshall has showcased crushing power as a pro, stopping 10 of her first 12 opponents. She won a middleweight title in 2020, stopping Hannah Rankin, and defended it with a crushing third-round knockout of Hermans earlier this month. Marshall and Shields, who have become bitter rivals, are penciled in to square off this summer in the UK.
8 – Delfine Persoon
Record: 46–3
Last fight: RTD win Beatriz Aguilar
Next fight: TBD
Persoon’s gaudy record and five-year reign as a 135-pound titleholder are evidence of her world class status, but it was two of her losses that stand out. In 2019, Persoon waged war with Katie Taylor, throwing a whopping 586 punches in a narrow majority decision defeat. She lost a competitive rematch in 2020 but rebounded with back-to-back wins last year. At 130- or 135-pounds, Persoon, 37, remains one of the best.
9 – Alycia Baumgardner
Record: 11–1
Last fight: UD win Edith Soledad Matthysse
Next fight: TBD
Baumgardner burst onto the world scene last November with a one-punch knockout of Terri Harper that put Harper out on her feet—and put Baumgardner in the mix for knockout of the year. Armed with two belts at 130-pounds, Baumgardner, 27, who successfully defended her title earlier this month, is likely headed towards a fight with Matchroom stablemate Hyun Mi Choi. A win would set up a showdown with Mikaela Mayer for the undisputed super featherweight championship.
10 – Christina Hammer
Record: 27–1
Last fight: TKO win Daniele Bastieri
Next fight: TBD
Hammer’s run as unified middleweight champion ended in 2019, when she lost a decision to Claressa Shields. She has won three straight since, including a pair of knockouts at super middleweight. At 31, Hammer, who aligned with Wasserman Boxing, will reportedly attempt to make another run at a world title this year.
