Latest news with #AlyciaBaumgardner
The Sun
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3 LIVE RESULTS: Main event ON NOW as rivals settle beef in blockbuster trilogy
AMANDA SERRANO is having a third shot at Katie Taylor RIGHT NOW as the two rivals meet in their highly-anticipated trilogy fight! Taylor defeated seven-weight world champion Serrano in a 2022 battle that was billed as the biggest fight in female boxing history. But the Irish icon's second successive win over her Puerto Rican rival was overshadowed by boos as the crowd believed Serrano, battling with a bloody eye, deserved more. Fast forward eight months, and the pair will go toe-to-toe all over again, and there is a cracking undercard taking place ahead of the huge Madison Square Garden bust-up. 2 minutes ago By Jack Figg From Israel Salas-Rodriguez inside Madison Square Garden As the co-main event draws to a close, the anticipation for the Serrano and Taylor clash is palpable. Fans spread across the Garden can be seen donning the flags from both fighters' respective countries. But a sea of Puerto Ricans draped in red, white, and blue flags overshadow those of the orange and green from the Irish. If fans can expect anything from the main event, it will be an all-out slugfest between two fighters that have shared the ring for 20 rounds in two instant classic bouts. Taylor will seek to make it 3-0 against the talented Serrano, who herself is seeking to score a victory over the Olympic Gold Medalist. 5 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda Judges score the bout to your winner 98-92, x2 97-93... Alycia Baumgardner. The American retains her titles but was made to work for it throughout the ten rounds. Scores too wide for my liking but right winner in the end. Thankfully it's out the way and the main event is now NEXT. 9 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 10 Miranda storms forward and tries to rough up Baumgardner, making it ugly. Baumgardner lets her hands go but takes a right hand. Miranda swarms forward now. We go to the judges scorecards and this could be interesting. Perhaps Baumgardner has done enough but Miranda really evened it up down the stretch. 11 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 9 Heading into the 10th and final round and Miranda is still in the fight. She may have given away too many of the early rounds but down the stretch she's found success and really made Baumgardner work. The champ may have to take this round to ensure victory. 15 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 8 Miranda backs Baumgardner up with a flurry of shots - great work from the challenger. Baumgardner even takes a couple as the round closes out. By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 7 Scrappy exchange on the inside, not much lands for either which has kind of been the story of the fight. It gets quite ugly in there, lot of grappling both sides but Baumgardner is the one landing the cleaner of the work. But Miranda has stuck with her the whole fight. 21 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 6 Miranda really taking it to Baumgardner but the American champ is duking it out. Baumgardner ends the round letting her hands go but she's been made to work on the inside. 24 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 5 Baumgardner goes southpaw in a bid to switch things up - she's not really stamped any sort of authority on the fight yet. Miranda lands a nice right but Baumgardner matches it. Tighter bout than anyone would have expected. 27 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 4 Great exchange from both, trading on the inside. Miranda is not here to roll over and is making things tough for Baumgardner, who hasn't got in a rhythm yet. 30 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 3 Miranda growing in confidence, coming forward landing shots. Baumgardner looks to be patient, corking up the right hand but not yet letting it go. 33 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda – Round 2 Right hand and down goes Miranda but no knockdown is called - Baumgardner is putting the pressure on. Miranda lands a right but Baumgardner responds with two shots of her own. She's easing her way in now. 36 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda - Round 1 Cautious opening round, neither doing all that much. Baumgardner looks to land the right hand a couple of times but doesn't commit too much. Expect this one to pick up - I hope anyway. 44 minutes ago By Jack Figg Baumgardner vs Miranda Jake Paul's latest signing Alycia Baumgardner returns to the ring. She takes on Spaniard Jennifer Miranda - who is also the star of Netflix series Money Heist. 50 minutes ago By Jack Figg Irish in the house The Irish have turned up in full force to support Katie Taylor. But it's the Puerto Rican's who have made themselves most heard tonight so far. 52 minutes ago By Israel Salas-Rodriguez What time will the main event take place? Ring-walks for the main event are expected to get underway at around 4am BST / 11pm ET. The first bell should go approximately 15 minutes later at 4:15am BST / 11:15pm ET. However, timings are subject to change depending on the length of the undercard bouts. Today, 02:47 By Tom Sheen From Israel Salas-Rodriguez inside Madison Square Garden The Garden is beginning to fill up for what is expected to be a main event filled with fireworks. Irish and Puerto Rican fans have jammed packed the Mecca as they eagerly await the trilogy bout between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor. Taylor arrived at the Garden just after 9pm ET / 2am BST receiving a roaring applause by the Irish fans in attendance. Moments later, a thunderous ovation erupted by the Nuyorican spectators as the Puerto Rican legend Serrano was shown on the big screen. Today, 02:45 By Jack Figg Marshall vs Green – R6 Green looks much more confident now, pumping out her jab with Marshall on the back foot. Marshall does end the round on the front foot but it's a lot more scrappy. She's struggling to get in a rhythm. Today, 02:41 By Jack Figg Marshall vs Green – R5 Marshall is hurt! Big right hand wobbles the Brit and she's forced to hold on. Huge round for the American, who had Marshall on wobbly legs after a big right hand. Jake Paul was waving Green forward - sensing the stoppage was close. Today, 02:38 By Jack Figg Marshall vs Green – R4 Green has a point off for holding! Every time Marshall gets close, the American does look to grab on. Big right hook at the end of the round wobbles Green - that was a big round for Marshall.
New York Times
12-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Alycia Baumgardner (c) vs. Jennifer Miranda
Follow live coverage as Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano step into the ring together for the third time at Madison Square Garden in New York Getty Images Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano today return to where their seminal rivalry began, as two of the greatest women's boxers in the world go head-to-head at Madison Square Garden. Taylor (24-1) beat Serrano (47-3-1) in the 2022 Fight of the Year at the Garden and the Irishwoman also won their similarly thrilling rematch in Texas last year. The pair will now fight for a third time with Taylor's unified light-welterweight titles on the line. Getty Images 🏆 IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring super-featherweight titles Tonight's co-main event sees Alycia Baumgardner (15-1) defend her unified super-featherweight titles against Spanish veteran Jennifer Miranda (12-0), who is yet to taste defeat in her professional career. Miranda is boxing outside of Spain for the first time in her career. Baumgardner is fighting for the first time since her eagerly-anticipated fight with the great Delfine Persoon ended in a disappointing no contest. The pair accidentally clashed heads in the fourth round of that September 2024 fight, which left Persoon with a gash over her right eye. Baumgardner is expected to win but the question is whether or not she can win explosively. If she manages it, she will most likely move to the front of the queue to challenge the winner of the final fight of the night: Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano. Getty Images 🏆 IBF, WBC, WBO, and Ring super-bantamweight titles Londoner Ellie Scotney (10-0) has been making waves ever since turning professional and today has the opportunity to add Yamileth Mercado's (24-3) WBC belt to her IBF, WBO and Ring super-bantamweight titles. That would leave WBA queen Mayelli Flores Rosquero (13-1-1) as the only other champion in the division. Scotney and Mercado were born on the exact same day in 1998 — March 16 — but Mercado is vastly more experienced. She has had 17 more fights and is taking part in her 12th title fight. Scotney won her first title in her seventh fight, against Cherneka Johnson. Getty Images 🏆 IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles Savannah Marshall (13-1), one of the true stars of the sport, is returning to the ring today after not boxing for two years. The Englishwoman became the undisputed super-middleweight world champion with a victory over Franchon Crews-Dezurn in July 2023, in her first fight since narrowly losing to Claressa Shields. Marshall then stepped away from the sport to make her MMA debut, but she's back in boxing and will pick up from where she left off with a victory against the dangerous Shadasia Green (15-1) today. 💬 Marshall already has her eye on a rematch with Shields. 'I'm here to get my belts back and avenge my defeat to Claressa Shields – that's if she'll ever fight me,' she told Boxing News earlier this week. 'In an ideal world, by this time next year I'd like to be out of boxing.' Getty Images 🏆 IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring bantamweight titles New Zealand's Cherneka Johnson (17-2) only picked up the WBA bantamweight title in May 2024, when she outpointed Nina Hughes. She beat Hughes again in March and now finds herself involved in a unification fight. It marks quite the turnaround for Johnson, who was out of the ring for almost a year after a loss to Ellie Scotney in London in 2023. Johnson is up against the veteran Shurretta Metcalf (14–4–1), who holds the IBF title. The 40-year-old from Dallas, Texas has won her last four contests, picking up her first world title last time out, against Miyo Yoshida. The WBC and WBO titles have also been thrown into the mix after Denmark's undefeated Dina Thorslund (23-0) temporarily stepped away from the sport after she announced she was pregnant with her second child. Getty Images 🏆 Interim WBC light-welterweight title This fight is where the undercard starts to get really serious. 34-year-old Englishwoman Chantelle Cameron (20-1) has achieved what Amanda Serrano — or anybody else, for that matter — has been unable to: defeating Katie Taylor. Cameron stunned the world when she beat Taylor by majority decision in her own backyard in May 2023. But Taylor won their rematch and seemingly declined to immediately pursue a trilogy bout, much to Cameron's frustration. 💬 'I'm told I will fight the winner of Katie versus Amanda, because I'm the WBC interim champion,' Cameron told ESPN earlier this week. 'I don't say I'm confident of getting a third fight with Katie though because the trilogy fight with her should have happened a long time ago. I've fought her in Dublin twice and she told me after the second one in the ring that the trilogy fight will happen. 'I thought it was signed and sealed, I agreed the date and venue, and I was actually taking less money for it than the first two fights. But then I got told she wanted an easier fight next and was fighting her mandatory instead of me. 'She didn't want to fight me again and has she changed her mind? Probably not.' Cameron today takes on Jessica Camara (13–4–1), an experienced Canadian who drew with Caroline Dubois last time out. The fight ended in a technical draw at the start of round three after an accidental clash of heads left Camara with a deep cut above the eye. Getty Images Pittsburgh boxer Mary Casamassa will come up against Tamm Thibeault in the other fight without a title on the line tonight — although the contest will witness the end of somebody's unblemished professional record. Casamassa (6-0) is ranked at No. 1 by the WBC and IBF at 160 pounds. She is ranked in the same spot by the WBA and WBO contender at 168. Thibeault is still making her way in the pro ranks but has some serious pedigree at amateur level, twice representing Canada at the Olympic Games and winning gold at the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul. Getty Images British-Somalian super-bantamweight Ramla Ali (9-2) is looking to rebuild her career after two defeats in her last three fights. The 35-year-old super bantamweight was seen as one of the sport's rising stars until she was unexpectedly stopped by Julissa Guzman. Ali avenged that defeat a few months later but then lost to WBC champion Yamileth Mercado on a unanimous points decision last June. This is therefore Ali's first fight in over a year — and her first since signing a promotional deal with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions. She is up against Lila Furtado, a 34-year-old Brazilian with a professional record of 11-2. Previews of all seven undercard fights are coming up next. Main card Katie Taylor (c) vs. Amanda Serrano 3 for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring light-welterweight titles for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring light-welterweight titles Alycia Baumgardner (c) vs. Jennifer Miranda for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring super-featherweight titles for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring super-featherweight titles Savannah Marshall (c) vs. Shadasia Green (c) for the IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles for the IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles Ellie Scotney (c) vs. Yamileth Mercado (c) for the IBF, WBC, WBO, and Ring super-bantamweight titles Prelims Cherneka Johnson (c) vs. Shurretta Metcalf (c) for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring bantamweight titles for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring bantamweight titles Chantelle Cameron (ic) vs. Jessica Camara for the interim WBC light-welterweight title for the interim WBC light-welterweight title Ramla Ali vs. Lila Furtado Tamm Thibeault vs. Mary Casamassa The Athletic We'd love to know your thoughts ahead of today's fight, particularly as plenty of you usually get in touch for our coverage of big boxing events. Who do you think is going to win our main event of the evening? What undercard fight are you most looking forward to? And what other big events do you have your eye on this summer? Let us know by emailing live@ Getty Images Katie Taylor seemed more than a little fed up at this week's final press conference, saying she is 'sick of Amanda Serrano's whining' before their third fight. 💬 She said: '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. 'I'm going into this fight unbeaten against Amanda Serrano, and I plan to stay on being against her.' Getty Images Earlier this year, Amanda Serrano also accused Katie Taylor of reneging on an earlier agreement to move to three-minute rounds for today's fight. Both of Taylor's victories over Serrano consisted of 10 two-minute rounds. But Serrano has fought longer bouts since her first fight with Taylor and last year, alongside 20 current and former women's boxers, she signed a statement saying women should be able to fight three-minute rounds. 💬 'First of all, we shook on it,' Serrano said during a news conference to announce the fight. 'She didn't agree when we went to sign the contract.' Turning to Taylor, she said: 'You know that if you have an extra minute that it won't go your way.' Getty Images Despite Amanda Serrano's apology to Katie Taylor in November, there has still been a fairly needling buildup to today's trilogy fight. And, during the pre-fight press conference, Serrano could not resist another dig at Taylor leading with her head throughout the second contest. 💬 'I'm going to use my head, but not the way it was used on me,' Serrano smiled when asked how she would improve from the first and second bouts. 'We're going to be smarter. We're going to be smarter, work smarter. I work hard in every training camp so I didn't work harder for this camp, but I did work a lot smarter for this fight. 'And I believe that we can come out victorious. We will come out victorious.' Getty Images Walker F: 'Count me among the millions of less-than-once-per-year boxing viewers that have no idea how Taylor won that fight.' RAD: 'I think Taylor was largely controlling how the fight got fought from the 2nd round. Serrano can bang but wasn't landing clean work and was always getting caught at the back in the exchanges, which as we know are the ones judges tend to remember. However, Taylor couldn't keep behind her shots, was falling forwards often and led with the head more than once. Her once excellent footwork and head movement didn't seem to be there. 'It was close, but I do think Taylor won the fight. Neither really did each other any favours.' James G: 'It was undoubtedly a close fight but a one point victory could have gone either way and was definitely not a robbery.' Getty Images An unhappy Amanda Serrano took aim at Katie Taylor in the following days on social media. But it's important to note the Puerto Rican later retracted her allegation that Taylor had deliberately looked to headbutt her throughout the rematch. 💬 She later wrote on X: ' Tempers are flared when you're in the heat of battle and you say things you shouldn't say. 'I'm not one to ever disrespect an opponent and these were never my intentions to Katie. She and I are cool outside the ring and the best dance partners in the ring. In no way should I ever have said she did it purposely, it's her style that makes for them. 'I'm not perfect and although I try my hardest to be the nicest person I can be, I'm human and being emotionally hurt can sometimes misguide you in what you say.' Getty Images There was a lot more bad blood after the rematch in Texas, with Amanda Serrano unhappy at how Katie Taylor had repeatedly leaned in with her head. 💬 'She kept head butting me, but we knew that from the very beginning from the first fight,' a frustrated Serrano said in the ring. 'That's what they do, not only my fight, she did it with Chantelle Cameron. Listen, I'm a Boricua. I'm going to die in this ring no matter what, no matter how many cuts I have on my face.' Taylor was docked a point for a headbutt in the eighth, which convinced many of those in attendance that Serrano was on course to avenge her defeat in the first fight. But all three judges scored the fight 95-94 for Taylor, who was booed as she was declared the victor. 'I knew when it went to the judges it was going to be a little shady,' Serrano added. Getty Images Another Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano superfight, another heavily disputed judging decision. For the second time, Taylor defeated Serrano via a decision that left more fans questioning the scorecards than praising Taylor's skills. Serrano fought through a gnarly cut above her right eye throughout much of the contest in Arlington, Texas, thanks to a series of Taylor head butts, one of which resulted in a point deduction in the eighth round. Taylor appeared to be fighting from behind throughout the bout, with Serrano fighting with tremendous precision, but Taylor's strong finish in the final four frames swung the judges' scorecards to earn the Irish fighter a trio of identical judgments, 95-94. Getty Images Monis K: 'It was an incredible, incredible effort from two absolute warriors. There were so many momentum swings, and so much heart displayed by both women, especially Katie. You could see why she has been a champion for so long. She's not just a great boxer but also has all the intangibles of a true champion.' Josue D: 'A great fight, legendary even. But Serrano won at LEAST 6 of the rounds…' Aaron P: 'An unbelievable fight that lived up to the hype. I had it a draw but it could have gone to either fighter. The last three rounds saved Taylor.' Getty Images Katie Taylor immediately agreed to a rematch with Amanda Serrano after her triumph at the Garden in April 2022. 💬 She said in the ring after her victory: 'We have to do this again. It was an absolute war for 10 rounds. I'm grateful to be in this position and sell out Madison Square Garden. Look what we've just done. 'I said before that when you think Madison Square Garden, you think Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier, but now everyone will be thinking of Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano. 'I knew I was going to have to dig deep and go to the trenches. I have the heart as well as the skill. I knew I was going to be able to pull through.' Getty Images Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano via split decision in one of the most highly anticipated fights in women's boxing history. The tone was set from the first bell, with Serrano boxing incredibly aggressively and Taylor, the champion, looking to counter. And the fight exploded into life in the fifth, when Serrano backed Taylor up onto the ropes and unloaded a barrage of shots, leaving Taylor bloodied and more than a little unsteady on her feet. But Taylor recovered, rediscovering her legs in the seventh and edging the final three thrilling rounds. The scores were 96-94 Serrano, 97-93 Taylor and 96-93 Taylor, with the Irishwoman retaining her titles. Page 2
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano III: trailblazing rivals' last dance headlines historic night
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano have thwacked one another with 861 punches across two punishing, brilliant encounters. There's been not a single knockdown between them, nor an ounce of quit. And not, it seems, a shred of closure either. That will change, or so they hope, on Friday night in New York. For the third and likely final time, two of boxing's most decorated champions and fate-bound dance partners will meet inside the ropes, returning to Madison Square Garden, the site of their epochal 2022 classic, for what is being billed as the decisive chapter in a rivalry that helped transform women's boxing. Taylor's WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles are once again on the line. So is a legacy greater than any belts. 'This fight is even bigger than the last two,' Taylor said at Wednesday's final press conference in midtown Manhattan. 'To be headlining such a huge card, an all-female card, is an absolute privilege. I dreamt of this as a kid: headlining a show full of amazing women. It's a history-making event.' Who's fighting • Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano, 10 rounds, for Taylor's undisputed women's junior welterweight championship • Alycia Baumgardner v Jennifer Miranda, 10 rounds, for Baumgardner's undisputed women's junior lightweight championship • Savannah Marshall v Shadasia Green, 10 rounds, for Marshall's IBF women's super middleweight title and Green's WBO super middleweight title • Chantelle Cameron v Jessica Camara, 10 rounds, for Cameron's WBC women's interim junior welterweight title • Ellie Scotney v Yamileth Mercado, 10 rounds, for Scotney's IBF and WBO women's junior featherweight titles and Mercado's WBC women's junior featherweight title • Cherneka Johnson v Shurretta Metcalf, 10 rounds, for Johnson's WBA women's bantamweight titles, Metcalf's IBF women's bantamweight title and the vacant WBC and WBO titles • Ramla Ali v Lila Furtado, eight rounds, women's junior featherweights • Tamm Thibeault v Mary Casamassa, eight rounds, middleweights How to watch The broadcast will stream live globally on Netflix starting at 8pm ET (1am GMT) at no additional cost to subscribers. The broadcast will feature live commentary in English, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Brazilian Portuguese and French. Taylor's promoter-speak lands beyond the obligatory hyperbole. The bout is the main event of a seven-fight all-women's card that will be freely available to Netflix's roughly 300m subscribers around the world. And fittingly, the two fighters who broke the sport's glass ceiling at the Garden two years ago, when organizers planned for a crowd of about 10,000 but were forced to open the entire arena due to unanticipated demand, are back to close the circle. 'I don't think there'll be a fourth fight,' Serrano said Wednesday. 'I'm kind of tired of Katie Taylor. We've had great moments together, great fights together. … But two is better than one, right? She'll have two, I'll have one, and she can live with that.' The 36-year-old Puerto Rican star isn't being glib. She enters this fight 0-2 against Taylor, even if both decisions were disputed. Their first meeting at 135lb, the first time two women's boxers headlined the Garden, ended in a split decision many saw as too close to call. The rematch last November at AT&T Stadium in Texas was marginally more decisive, Taylor's cleaner shots outweighing Serrano's relentless volume. But neither decision was without controversy. Serrano, who suffered a deep cut above her eye in that second fight, believes she was fouled. Her trainer, Jordan Maldonado, accused Taylor of 'leading with her head', while Serrano herself doubled down post-fight. 'She does it in every fight,' she said. 'We knew that from the very beginning, from the first fight. That's what they do.' Taylor, for her part, has heard enough. 'I'm just tired of the complaining and the whining from Amanda's team,' she said. 'I have my own opinion about the stuff Amanda has been saying, but the fact is I'm 2-0 against her. Opinions are opinions, but facts are facts. I plan to stay 3-0 come this Friday night.' That smoldering tension has added a new edge to a rivalry once defined by mutual respect. But beneath the friction remains the core of what makes this so compelling: two elite operators with world-class engines and complementary styles that guarantee action from the first bell to the last. Serrano out-landed Taylor in both fights – 324 to 217 in the rematch by Compubox's count – but Taylor absorbed the storm and returned fire with greater precision. 'I feel like people haven't seen the best me yet,' Taylor said. 'I can definitely make the fight a lot easier for myself and I just can't wait to step in there and actually perform.' Serrano, meanwhile, says she has adjusted her approach. 'I'm going to use my head, but not the way it was used on me,' she said. 'We're going to be smarter. I worked a lot smarter for this fight and I believe we will come out victorious.' At 39, Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) has little left to prove. The 2012 Olympic champion is one of the few fighters in history, male or female, to have become an undisputed champion in two different weight classes. Since turning pro in 2016, she has fought and beaten nearly every top name of her era. But it is the flinty Nuyorican who stands as her defining foil. Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs), who joined the paying ranks three years before women's boxing was added to the Olympics and failed to benefit from the mainstream visibility it afforded, has worn belts in seven different weight classes from 115lb to 140lb, including an undisputed reign at featherweight. The Puerto Rico-born, Brooklyn-based southpaw is also fighting in her adopted hometown. 'To win here, at the Garden, it would be amazing,' she said. 'To bring those belts back over the bridge would be really cool.' Still, she insists she never lost her confidence after Texas. 'Losing is never fun, but you only lose if you feel like you lost,' she said. 'And I didn't feel like I lost. My team told me I didn't lose. They're proud of me, so I'm OK. Like [Serrano's promoter] Jake Paul says: 'You turn that L into a W.'' 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, Serrano was once paid $1,500 for a world title defense. Now she will reap another seven-figure purse while headlining the most loaded women's boxing card ever assembled, with multiple undisputed and unified titles on the line. Alycia Baumgardner defends all four of her belts at super featherweight. Savannah Marshall, Ellie Scotney and Chantelle Cameron – the only fighter to beat Taylor as a professional – will all fight for world championships. The crowd-pleasing London-based Somali junior featherweight Ramla Ali is also booked for an eight-round non-title bout coming off her second career setback. Both Taylor and Serrano have said they're open to a fourth meeting, if necessary. But if Friday night goes to the scorecards again, and one woman emerges with a clean, uncontroversial victory, the book may finally close on the debate. 'I just love the challenge,' Taylor said when asked why she accepted the trilogy despite winning the first two. 'This was still the biggest fight in women's boxing. Why not take it again?'
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano III: trailblazing rivals' last dance headlines historic night
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano have thwacked one another with 861 punches across two punishing, brilliant encounters. There's been not a single knockdown between them, nor an ounce of quit. And not, it seems, a shred of closure either. That will change, or so they hope, on Friday night in New York. For the third and likely final time, two of boxing's most decorated champions and fate-bound dance partners will meet inside the ropes, returning to Madison Square Garden, the site of their epochal 2022 classic, for what is being billed as the decisive chapter in a rivalry that helped transform women's boxing. Taylor's WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles are once again on the line. So is a legacy greater than any belts. 'This fight is even bigger than the last two,' Taylor said at Wednesday's final press conference in midtown Manhattan. 'To be headlining such a huge card, an all-female card, is an absolute privilege. I dreamt of this as a kid: headlining a show full of amazing women. It's a history-making event.' Who's fighting • Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano, 10 rounds, for Taylor's undisputed women's junior welterweight championship • Alycia Baumgardner v Jennifer Miranda, 10 rounds, for Baumgardner's undisputed women's junior lightweight championship • Savannah Marshall v Shadasia Green, 10 rounds, for Marshall's IBF women's super middleweight title and Green's WBO super middleweight title • Chantelle Cameron v Jessica Camara, 10 rounds, for Cameron's WBC women's interim junior welterweight title • Ellie Scotney v Yamileth Mercado, 10 rounds, for Scotney's IBF and WBO women's junior featherweight titles and Mercado's WBC women's junior featherweight title • Cherneka Johnson v Shurretta Metcalf, 10 rounds, for Johnson's WBA women's bantamweight titles, Metcalf's IBF women's bantamweight title and the vacant WBC and WBO titles • Ramla Ali v Lila Furtado, eight rounds, women's junior featherweights • Tamm Thibeault v Mary Casamassa, eight rounds, middleweights How to watch The broadcast will stream live globally on Netflix starting at 8pm ET (1am GMT) at no additional cost to subscribers. The broadcast will feature live commentary in English, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Brazilian Portuguese and French. Taylor's promoter-speak lands beyond the obligatory hyperbole. The bout is the main event of a seven-fight all-women's card that will be freely available to Netflix's roughly 300m subscribers around the world. And fittingly, the two fighters who broke the sport's glass ceiling at the Garden two years ago, when organizers planned for a crowd of about 10,000 but were forced to open the entire arena due to unanticipated demand, are back to close the circle. 'I don't think there'll be a fourth fight,' Serrano said Wednesday. 'I'm kind of tired of Katie Taylor. We've had great moments together, great fights together. … But two is better than one, right? She'll have two, I'll have one, and she can live with that.' The 36-year-old Puerto Rican star isn't being glib. She enters this fight 0-2 against Taylor, even if both decisions were disputed. Their first meeting at 135lb, the first time two women's boxers headlined the Garden, ended in a split decision many saw as too close to call. The rematch last November at AT&T Stadium in Texas was marginally more decisive, Taylor's cleaner shots outweighing Serrano's relentless volume. But neither decision was without controversy. Serrano, who suffered a deep cut above her eye in that second fight, believes she was fouled. Her trainer, Jordan Maldonado, accused Taylor of 'leading with her head', while Serrano herself doubled down post-fight. 'She does it in every fight,' she said. 'We knew that from the very beginning, from the first fight. That's what they do.' Taylor, for her part, has heard enough. 'I'm just tired of the complaining and the whining from Amanda's team,' she said. 'I have my own opinion about the stuff Amanda has been saying, but the fact is I'm 2-0 against her. Opinions are opinions, but facts are facts. I plan to stay 3-0 come this Friday night.' That smoldering tension has added a new edge to a rivalry once defined by mutual respect. But beneath the friction remains the core of what makes this so compelling: two elite operators with world-class engines and complementary styles that guarantee action from the first bell to the last. Serrano out-landed Taylor in both fights – 324 to 217 in the rematch by Compubox's count – but Taylor absorbed the storm and returned fire with greater precision. 'I feel like people haven't seen the best me yet,' Taylor said. 'I can definitely make the fight a lot easier for myself and I just can't wait to step in there and actually perform.' Serrano, meanwhile, says she has adjusted her approach. 'I'm going to use my head, but not the way it was used on me,' she said. 'We're going to be smarter. I worked a lot smarter for this fight and I believe we will come out victorious.' At 39, Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) has little left to prove. The 2012 Olympic champion is one of the few fighters in history, male or female, to have become an undisputed champion in two different weight classes. Since turning pro in 2016, she has fought and beaten nearly every top name of her era. But it is the flinty Nuyorican who stands as her defining foil. Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs), who joined the paying ranks three years before women's boxing was added to the Olympics and failed to benefit from the mainstream visibility it afforded, has worn belts in seven different weight classes from 115lb to 140lb, including an undisputed reign at featherweight. The Puerto Rico-born, Brooklyn-based southpaw is also fighting in her adopted hometown. 'To win here, at the Garden, it would be amazing,' she said. 'To bring those belts back over the bridge would be really cool.' Still, she insists she never lost her confidence after Texas. 'Losing is never fun, but you only lose if you feel like you lost,' she said. 'And I didn't feel like I lost. My team told me I didn't lose. They're proud of me, so I'm OK. Like [Serrano's promoter] Jake Paul says: 'You turn that L into a W.'' 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, Serrano was once paid $1,500 for a world title defense. Now she will reap another seven-figure purse while headlining the most loaded women's boxing card ever assembled, with multiple undisputed and unified titles on the line. Alycia Baumgardner defends all four of her belts at super featherweight. Savannah Marshall, Ellie Scotney and Chantelle Cameron – the only fighter to beat Taylor as a professional – will all fight for world championships. The crowd-pleasing London-based Somali junior featherweight Ramla Ali is also booked for an eight-round non-title bout coming off her second career setback. Both Taylor and Serrano have said they're open to a fourth meeting, if necessary. But if Friday night goes to the scorecards again, and one woman emerges with a clean, uncontroversial victory, the book may finally close on the debate. 'I just love the challenge,' Taylor said when asked why she accepted the trilogy despite winning the first two. 'This was still the biggest fight in women's boxing. Why not take it again?'
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Alycia Baumgardner has more to gain from Netflix exposure than any other fighter on Friday's MVP event
If fights were decided by ring-walks alone, Alycia Baumgardner had already scored a knockout. It was October 2022 in the packed O2 Arena in London, and she strutted in to face American rival Mikaela Mayer at an all-female fight card looking like she owned the building. She appeared in a gladiatorial outfit with "Bomb" plastered over the waist-line. Pyrotechnics behind her synced to the music. The whole place was lit. Baumgardner seemed destined for stardom even back then. Nobody in all of combat sports seems to have more fun when making that walk. It's a walk that can feel lonely for some. Apprehension could take over. But Baumgardner never shows signs of nerves. She revels in those moments. Advertisement That night, she took that confidence into the ring, beat Mayer by split-decision and retained her WBC and IBO super featherweight titles. In the process, she annexed the WBO, IBF and Ring belts, too. She's never lost any of those titles since, despite putting them on the line in fights against Elhem Mekhaled and Christina Linardatou. Baumgarder will make that same walk once again Friday night, this time to fight Jennifer Miranda during another all-women fight card organized by Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions at New York's Madison Square Garden. Alycia Baumgardner made a statement as soon as she appeared for her fight with Mikaela Mayer. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge) (Action Images via Reuters / Reuters) Baumgardner, more than other woman on the MVP card, stands to benefit most from this exposure on Netflix. She's confident and exudes charisma. And she brings glamour to a sport that relies on theater to leverage mainstream attention. Advertisement 'This is something that I love being a part of,' Baumgarder told Uncrowned ahead of the MVP event on Netflix. 'When we talk about boxing, we talk about fights at the Garden. And me featured on that card is something to talk about.' Baumgardner looks forward to 'an awesome night" because she's planning another grand arrival, and a repeat result of her win over Mayer. Her walkouts bring together three of her passions — music, fashion and making an entrance. 'This is a moment in time,' the 31-year-old said. 'You've got to make your footprint before it's gone. ... Listen, you know it is one of my favorite things to do. We have a surprise for everyone that we don't want to give away, but I'm excited.' If a big entrance fails to transition to a big performance, fighters risk making themselves into the worst kind of meme. Baumgardner, though, is unencumbered by any burden of expectation. Perhaps for good reason, considering she can rely on knockout pop and an accuracy that routinely finds the target. Advertisement Baumgardner is not a volume puncher like, for example, Amanda Serrano, who headlines Friday's event alongside Katie Taylor. Baumgardner has an educated jab, though, and has a clear advantage when it comes to throwing the right shot at the right time, often with power. She looks the part when she walks to the ring, and, crucially, acts the part inside of it, too. Victory over Miranda could propel Baumgardner's career forward in one great leap. 'She's undefeated and coming to fight,' the American said. She then remarked that, regardless, it'll be the Spaniard's "O" that will be the one to go by the closing bell. Advertisement 'She has an opportunity to take advantage of the night, but what I also know is that she's never been in the ring with somebody like [me].' Baumgardner said she's 'ready for this night to be one of her best' because she's set to rise up in weight and challenge the main-event winner. Though Taylor has two wins over Serrano, Baumgardner tips the Puerto Rican prizefighter to finally get revenge. 'Amanda has already experienced what the two fights look like," Baumgardner said. "Ahead of a third time, she's already made the changes needed. Amanda is well equipped to get the win.' She's 'definitely rooting for her' MVP stablemate to win the night, Baumgardner said, but it still seems as though Baumgardner has more to gain going forward because, unlike Serrano and Taylor, she's in the prime of her career rather than the end of it. Advertisement 'It's a moment in time to take advantage of,' she told us, adding that she's open to the possible Serrano super-fight later in the year. 'I'm in the sport to make history, and to make these awesome fights,' Baumgardner said. "I'm a challenger, and I want all the challenges.'
