This is one of those rivalries of healthy origin, the kind that leads to good results and ends up leaving the fans happy in the ringside or in front of the TV. Katie Taylor is the World Boxing Association (WBA) 135-pound champion, as well as the WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring belt. The best pound-for-pound fighter in the world will have the most important chance of her sporting career on April 30 against another strong figure such as Amanda Serrano, who has won titles in seven different divisions. But… Why is this fight so important?
We have to start by remembering that women first started competing in boxing in the 1700s, called by the desire to display and show their qualities in the noble art. It was not until 1954 when the first televised broadcast of a women’s fight took place. In 1904, there was an exhibition in the Olympic Games, but it was not until 2012 that they were accepted by law. In the United States, as the main stage of attention, as well as in many other regions, it was flooded with legal lawsuits by women like Marian “Lady Tyger” Trimiar who claimed the right to practice the sport of fists…
It doesn’t end there. In 1996, when Mike Tyson knocked out Frank Bruno in the third round, the public was in awe of the most shocking fight, one that was just another filler on the card that night that modern women’s boxing was born: Christy Martin vs. Deirdre Gogarty. Then, in 2018, Kali Reis (WBA 140-pound champion) and Cecilia Braekhus (first woman to unify crowns in the same division) starred in the first women’s fight broadcast by the iconic boxing television network, HBO.
To this day, you still hear the inconsistent comments that women are “not good business”… They have long been in the fight to earn the money they are worth, which in most cases is still less than that of men. But… here are two of the important reasons that make the TAYLOR-SERRANO clash historic: they will be the stars of the card, not the sidekick. They are the main event of a world pay-per-view. And besides, they both represent that yearning that it is possible to win as good purses as their male versions.
Another significant fact; New York’s Madison Square Garden, which has been preserved in the time of sports shows, specifically boxing, for something like…140 years, will have for the first time in history a women’s fight in its facilities. On April 30, “the city that never sleeps” will be the scene of inspiration for all girls and women around the world that dreams can come true. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano have long wanted to face each other, and now it’s a fact. The pioneer organization in boxing celebrates this and every action of women who bravely step up to the boxing ring.
