TAYLOR TOYS WITH CINDY
But Serrano coach’s insults leave bad taste
IT’S NOT that Katie Taylor wins these kind of fights at her ease, it’s that she can do so with one ear closed to a barrage of vitriolic abuse. Abuse that was aimed at her from her opponents’ corner.
Fighters have been ducking the Wicklow woman for a year, and they’ve had good reason.
On Saturday night, Taylor showed why. She beat Cindy Serrano at TD Garden in Boston with fists and willpower.
From the get-go, Serrano’s coach and husband, Jordan Maldonado, goaded Taylor with comments like: ‘Don’t worry, Amanda is going to knock you out next time.’
After the fight Katie said: ‘I heard that remark and indeed I heard him during the whole fight. He was saying terrible things and it was his wife who was in the ring.’
‘He was saying “you picked the weaker Serrano”. That’s a terrible thing to say. At least give your wife some encouragement. It was ridiculous of him,’ suggested Taylor, who is aiming to fight Cindy’s younger sister Amanda in the future.
Taylor came out from round one with intent. She imposed her strength, skill and exuberance, constantly moving, hitting Serrano from all angles.
Serrano didn’t have the firepower to cope. By the third round it became clear that she wasn’t really trying to win the fight, she just trying to make it out in one piece. The Bray native continued to stalk Serrano throughout the fourth round, hitting her opponent with a straight right.
Taylor snuck a left to the body early in the fifth. The crowd sensed the fight was there for the taking as Serrano’s tight defence began to open up. She went on to land three successive right hands in the final seconds of the round.
A tiring Serrano opted to hold Taylor for long periods of the sixth, still several rights made it through. Then, with her gloves behind her back, it was Taylor’s turn to taunt in the seventh round.
She moved backwards and waved Serrano forward. A scrappy eighth saw Serrano crouch even deeper behind her gloves. She opted for the same tactic in the ninth but Taylor seemed to be chasing the knock-out and fired a number of accurate and powerful right crosses. Serrano was in survival mode.
Amongst the taunts from Maldonado, Taylor repeatedly sought a knock-out in the 10th; prowling, punching, moving always on the front foot until the bell.
All three judges — Steve Clark, John Madfis and Allen Nace — scored each of the 10 rounds for Taylor (100-90).
There was a brief stand-off between Maldonado and Taylor’s coach Ross Enamait in the ring afterwards. Enamait, no doubt, riled by the trash talking from the far corner.
But Taylor was only frustrated by the lack of her opponent’s effort to be competitive.
She said: ‘She was very defensive and I expected a lot more from her. A win is a win and we will move on.’
Taylor added: ‘I just want to be involved in big fights again, hopefully in Madison Square Garden on December 15.
‘There was a great atmosphere and it was great to fight one of the Serrano sisters and hopefully the other one (sister) is on the way for a fight sometime next year.
‘The fight against Amanda would be huge and it’s the fight that everybody wants to see. But I think she has done everything she can to avoid a fight with me.’
Last night, Amanda Serrano fired back, tweeting: ‘Congrats to Katie Taylor for her win tonight against my sister Cindy. I hope I get my shot. I promise it will be a toe-to-toe WAR!’