Watch Katie Taylor share tender moment with young girl before Amanda Serrano bout as fans hail ‘why she is the best'
The Bray woman, 39, defends her undisputed super lightweight titles against the Puerto Rican at MSG on Friday night, live on
2
Katie Taylor took part in an open workout before her bout with Amanda Serrano
Credit: Esther Lin/ Most Valuable Promotions
2
She was involved in a precious moment with a fan
Credit: Esther Lin/ Most Valuable Promotions
With fight week in full flow, both Taylor and Serrano took part in an open workout at The Oculus at World Trade Center.
Fans turned out in force to witness their heroes, including a young girl who joined Taylor in the ring for a bit of shadow
boxing
.
As the encounter rolled on, she was asked if she looked up to the 2012 Olympic gold medallist.
In response, the youngster melted the interviewer's heart by saying: "I love Katie".
Read More on Katie Taylor
Fans reacted to the clip on
One said: "Irelands best role model in the fighting game"
A second commented: "Aw, this is why Katie is the best! The greatest of all time"
A third posted: "How many young girls has
Most read in Boxing
"If you've ever been to one of her fights, you'll know , the
energy
, the faces in the crowd, the belief.
"She's not just a champion; she's an icon in the highest sense"
Katie Taylor takes on Amanda Serrano in dramatic rematch at Madison Square Garden
A fourth said: "Inspiring the
next
generation"
And a fifth hailed: "She's gonna become jus like Katie 20 years from now"
In April 2022, she defended her lightweight belts against the 36-year-old in a Fight of the Year candidate at Madison Square Garden.
She repeated the job last November with a unanimous decision win at the AT&T Stadium despite having a point deducted and Serrano debating the result.
Taylor will look to make it 3-0 on Friday night in the headline bout on an all-female card which is set to
There will be an incredible - and record-breaking -
17 WORLD TITLES
on the line throughout the night.
The
record
attempt exclusively includes belts from the four major boxing sanctioning bodies, the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF.
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Irish Examiner
38 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Katie Taylor leans into the trash talk while MVP dangle big-money bonus
In the basement of Madison Square Garden, Katie Taylor is content to get down and trade. Not necessarily trash talk, but by her standards, Wednesday's press conference was a spiky affair. 'I have my own opinion about the stuff that Amanda has been saying and her team,' she said on stage alongside 15 of the 16 women who will compete on the bill this Friday. 'But the fact is that I am 2-0 against her. Opinions are opinions, but facts are facts, and you can't get away from those facts. And, yeah, I guess I'm just sick of the complaining and whining from her team." Her former opponent Chantelle Cameron was the only boxer who missed the press event due to a visa issue that meant she was only travelling as it kicked off. The atmosphere around The Theater was noticeably upbeat. Everyone in the venue was aware of the significance attached to this all-women's card. There was a marked improvement in media engagement compared to the last Netflix event in Texas, where Mike Tyson and Jake Paul ensured that the show sold itself. Here, they had to make a splash. Host Ariel Helwani during a press conference, held at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA, ahead of the undisputed super lightweight championship fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Most Valuable Promotions are running the night. The company that was founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian are behind headliner Amanda Serrano since signing her in 2021. Bidarian announced a $250k performance bonus for the standout scrapper. Paul declined to answer questions about his own boxing ambitions, emphasising that this week was about the women on the card. Taylor was also at pains to stress why she was here. It was not a bid to conclusively prove that she was superior after two close and disputed previous bouts. Nevertheless, a trilogy typically takes a draw before the final showdown. Why did she take the fight? At one point, Serrano turned and asked her opponent this directly. "I'm going to take the fight again because I love the challenge,' Taylor snapped back. 'Because I want to take the best fight. I don't really mind the challenge. "I just want to take the biggest challenges, the biggest fights in women's boxing. And after the last fight, this was still the biggest fight in women's boxing. So that is why I'm taking it. "Why not take the challenge again? And I believe I can beat you again.' Brooklyn's Puerto Rican prizefighter had a sizeable support in the room and they relished Serrano's explanation when asked if it would be difficult to bounce back from another defeat. 'You only lose if you feel like you lost, I didn't feel like I lost,' she said. 'My team told me I didn't lose. They are proud of me so I am okay. Like Jake Paul says, turn that L into a W. That is what we are going to do come Friday night.' Once again, Taylor couldn't tolerate that: 'But you did lose the fight,' she interjected. 'You did lose.' Later the Bray boxer would stress she still hates all the promotional requirements that come before a blockbuster night. But she was entitled to have her say too. 'I am not a natural trash talker. I don't think it is trash talk. I am just responding to what is being said. Enough is enough.' There was some warmth on the platform as well. Away from the limelight, there is mutual respect between them. As proceedings moved towards concluding, one question from the floor that had them both grinning. An individual sporting New York Yankees gear from head to toe reached deep into Madison Square Garden lore. Any utterance that starts with 'Amanda, Katie, check this out' is bound to be worthwhile. 20 years ago, Félix Trinidad fought Winky Wright at the Mecca of boxing. The Yankees fan revealed that they made a bet that meant the loser would take a trip to the loser's home country and learn about their culture. Would the women shake hands on a similar deal? Taylor was more than happy to take a trip to Puerto Rico. Serrano wasn't too keen on the seven-hour flight to Ireland, but divulged that she has gotten to know the Irish woman's 'amazing' family over the course of their rivalry. That doesn't mean the pair see eye to eye on their showdown or the negotiations. Interestingly, the champion revealed it was the MVP camp who pushed for the meeting to be at a catchweight. Their first showdown at Madison Square Garden was at 135-pound lightweight. 'The fight is at 136 pounds. That was in the contract,' said Taylor. 'All these belts are obviously still on the line and I know that I am coming out on stage first here and I am being announced in the ring on Friday night first as well but this is an MVP show. I don't really care about any of that stuff. My mindset does not change. 'This stuff is just nonsense really. I am just stepping in there with a champion mindset. I am stepping in there giving it my all and I am as hungry as ever. This is just an MVP show and I know that. Everyone behind MVP are against me but that is okay.' They are scheduled for ten, two minute rounds. On the talk of that she turned down a three-minute proposal from Serrano's camp, Taylor remained firm. Don't get it twisted. She is in a position where she can make that call. That's what two wins will do. 'Because I won the second fight. I think it would be a lot different if she was the champion. Like I said in the last press conference, she is not in a position to dictate the terms of the fight. I am the champion. She is not.'
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Age of results denial in US as Katie Taylor gears up for third bout against Serrano
This is the age of results denial in the US and as Katie Taylor sat in Madison Square Garden theatre on Wednesday evening, she was clearly out of patience. Ever since her win over Puerto Rico's Amanda Serrano after a ferocious and primordial contest in Dallas last November, her opponent has made little secret of her disdain for the result. That decision, following twenty minutes of relentless close-quarter boxing which became uncomfortably vicious at times, was unanimously scored 95-94 in front of a partisan crowd of 70,000 many of whom booed the announcement. Taylor was in hostile country in Texas that night. It was arguably the finest performance of her two-decade career. Serrano's eye was bloodied after two head collisions and ugly accusations of headbutting levelled against Taylor. The win complimented the Irish woman's classic 2022 win over Serrano after their first meeting here in New York in 2022. The world has aged in dog years since then. Now, as the summer mobs strolled Eighth Avenue, she found herself back in the famous arena for the final act of a trilogy. Serrano and Taylor have not changed much. But there was a sense that even though they are uniquely suited to concocting bouts of mesmerising, high violence in the ring, they have soured of one another as people. At least for now. [ Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano 3: All you need to know, including expected ring time and where to watch Opens in new window ] 'I mean I have my own opinion of the stuff Amanda has been saying and the fact is I am two and O against her,' Taylor said in addressing the tetchy relationship between the camps. 'Opinions are opinions. But facts are facts. I guess I am just sick and tired of the whining and complaining from the other team. Just the complaints about the decision, the headbutts, whatever. The only thing that matters is that I am two and O against her and I plan to be three-and-oh Friday night.' On Friday, Taylor and Serrano will headline an all-female card dreamed up by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, the MVP co-founders who have again linked up with Netflix. The live-streamed press conference was produced to the gaudy and glittery overkill to which professional boxing has long succumbed. Taylor is a seasoned professional but has retained the amateur's austerity even as her star as risen in the money world. Sitting in these events, with the booming music and the cat calls from the crowd, she manages to be the chief attraction while somehow remaining at a distance from the whole show. She was introduced as the penultimate fighter, even though she has all the belts. And she confirmed that while the fight was set at 63.5kg (140lbs), the contract stipulates at 61.6kg (136lbs) weight limit. 'Yeah, the fight is at 136lbs,' she said evenly. 'That was in the contract. But obviously all these belts are still on the line. And I know that I coming out on stage first here. I am being announced first in the ring on Friday night as well. But this is an MVP show. I don't really care about that kind of stuff. My mindset doesn't change. This stuff is just ... nonsense really. I just step in there with a champion's mindset. I am as hungry as ever. And this is just an MVP show. I know that everyone behind MVP are against me. But that's okay.' In the media huddles afterwards, Bidarian moved to address what Taylor had said when asked his opinion of the Irish fighter. 'A humble human being who obviously has dedicated her life to this sport. Family oriented. And just a great person. You know, she made a comment on that stage where she said everyone in MVP is against me. So, at the end of that face off I said, Katie, I hope you don't feel like that's the case. She said, Nakisa, I didn't mean to say that, I don't know why I said that. I said there's no need to apologise I just want you to know we are not all here campaigning in the background.' But there's no question many of the fans in Madison Square Garden on Friday will be from the Puerto Rican enclaves within the boroughs. Crossing at the lights on Eighth Avenue, a chatty Englishman who had travelled over to see Taylor said he believed she'd have to stop her opponent outright to wring a third successive victory. Inside, the spectators were mainly there to support Serrano and Taylor laughed her way through the jibes – 'You were using your head'; 'Fix' – that were shouted from the shadows in the auditorium. Serrano is the extrovert of the two women, playing the crowd and lightly repeating her belief that she didn't lose that night in Texas, despite the result. 'Losing is never fun,' she said brightly. 'But you only lose if you feel like you lost and I didn't feel like I lost. My team told me I didn't lose. Like Jake Paul says, turn that L into a W.' Taylor waited a tick before leaning into the microphone to counter with understated stubbornness. 'But you did lose the fight.' Oddly, the event was another reminder of the diminishing Irish emigrant story. New York is not an Irish town in the way it once was. Scroll through the decades to other landmark boxing moments in the Garden, from the carnival that followed John Duddy's rise twenty years ago, to the autumn night in 1984 when half of Connemara descended from south Boston to see Sean Mannion fight Mike McCallum. Or the immortal day when the city was sufficiently crowded with residential and visiting Irish to turn Giants Stadium green for the World Cup meeting against Italy. So, it was odd to note just how few Irish fans were scattered around the half-empty auditorium for what was an open-to-the-public event. And it was sweltering outside around Penn Station: if they'd advertised the air-con', the arena would have been filled ten times over. Taylor will have her Irish fans on Friday night- the fight will be start at around 3am Irish time- and they will be vocal. But the era of the city Irish having the clout to own an event like this may have passed. And on Wednesday evening, Taylor's mind was where it is usually to be found on the eve of the fights that have defined her life: already fixated on what will happen when the bell goes. She's never had much time for the endless talking, and the cameras, and the questions. 'I absolutely hate these things to be honest,' she said afterwards. 'I'm not a natural trash talker- and I don't think its trash talking. But I just responded to what has been said. And enough is enough of the nonsense and all the complaining and whining about the decisions. I don't mind speaking my mind when I have to. To be headlining such a huge card and an all-female card is an absolute privilege. It's an amazing situation. These are the kind of nights I actually dreamt of as a kid. To be in this position, to headline a big show like this full of these amazing women behind me.' That's where she's at: 39 years old since July 2nd: a figurehead for women's boxing, just young enough to enjoy another major pay-day. Her four undisputed super-lightweight titles on the line against an opponent whose persona grates on her a little. But together with Serrano, Taylor produces dark, compelling, brutal sport. Laila Ali, the former professional and the daughter of Muhammad Ali, will be among the judges on Friday night. Her presence is a bloodline to the smoky magic of the early 1970s when boxing in this venue held the entire world in thrall. There can't be too many of these thunderstorms left in Taylor and the chances that with Serrano she is edging towards producing a contest that will rank highly among the folkloric Madison Square Garden fights.
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Katie Taylor's relationship with father, split, year of 'turmoil' and reuniting
Katie Taylor faces Amanda Serrano for a third time this week in what could be her final fight before hanging up her gloves. The iconic undisputed super-lightweight world champion turned 39 last week and she has admitted herself that she does not have many fights left. Taylor holds two victories over Serrano. The Bray native won via unanimous decision last November after a split-decision victory over the Puerto Rican in April 2022. It's been over nine years since Taylor parted professional ways with her dad Pete post-Rio Olympics. Their paths split in 2016 – just four years on from Katie's Olympic triumph – as Pete's marriage to Katie's mum Bridget broke down. Later that same year, the Irish sensation suffered a shock Olympic quarter-final exit in Rio when defeated by Finland's Mira Potkonen. Chatting with Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show some years back, Taylor delved into the upheaval of 2016. She recounted: "I would describe that whole year as 'turmoil', there was a lot of turmoil within our family relationships and it is no secret at this stage that myself and my dad parted ways throughout that year and my whole training regime was turned upside down. "I was going from club to club just trying to get spars here and there. I was sleeping in the car in between sessions and I wasn't eating properly. "But I still genuinely believed I was going to win gold and I believed that was my destiny. "When things don't pan out the way you hoped and dreamed, you can't underestimate how heart-breaking that is. As an athlete with my mentality, winning is everything and that was easily the lowest point of my career." A few months later, she turned pro and has since been victorious in all her bouts bar one since, losing to England's Chantelle Cameron in May 2023 before avenging the defeat six months later. However, Pete expressed reservations about Katie's decision to turn pro, stating to Green Blood Boxing: "I was never keen on Katie turning professional. I just didn't want her to turn professional. It's a different game to the amateur women. "It was hard enough in the corner before and now you see her and her head's out eyes, cuts. "And I'm not being discriminate, but I don't like female professional boxing to tell you the truth." Conceding that his views might be met with disapproval, he confessed, "I like the boxing, I think they box great, but I just don't like the state they come out of it in - lumps here, lumps there, and their nose is over there. "Lads can wear a broken nose, but I don't think women can, you know." Katie and her father were seen together publicly for the first time since their separation in late 2019. In her documentary, 'Katie,' she revealed: "The first time I had to go training without him, I was driving in by myself and the tears were rolling down my face. "I just felt like every time I was stepping into the ring without my dad at that time, I was missing an arm." Pete had previously shared on the Paddy Holohan No Shame podcast: "She (Katie) has good morals. She said 'if you've split up with my mother, then I don't want you in my corner.'". "She knew what the outcome would be. She knew that she'd be missing me in the corner but she still had the morals to go ahead and do that. You've got to respect that. She was reared good. "There's not many people who'd risk losing a European, World and Olympic title by not having your father as a coach. "She backed her ma ...although it's hurtful for me - but I've still got to take my hat off to her." It appears that the pair have mended their relationship somewhat, with Gary Cully, a boxer who was previously trained by Pete, participating in two of Katie's fights over the past few years. On both these occasions, Katie was seen interacting with her father and posing for photos at various events leading up to the fight night. However, Pete revealed prior to Katie's match with Chantelle Cameron in May that he never watched her fight when Cully was also on the card. He explained: "I'm always nervous. "I won't watch the fight because I can't control anything that's happening. Once Gary Cully's fought, I'm out of there. It was the same last time when Gary fought on Katie's show [in October 2022], I left, I didn't watch the fight. "I'm afraid I'll start shouting something in, and then I might shout something quite opposite of what Ross [Enamait, Taylor's coach] is saying to Katie, and then she'll recognise my voice... I wouldn't want to confuse the situation. "Plus I might end up having a heart attack anyway!" Earlier this year, Katie and Pete reunited for a training session while the champion was back in Ireland. A delighted Pete said at the time: "Absolutely brilliant to be training with my daughter this week. Words can't express what it means to me"
