Katie must keep her distance and avoid a war
Taylor to grab biggest purse of her career as superior skills set to see her cruise past battle-hardened Serrano
IN THE second defence of her two World championship belts in Boston’s TD Garden, Katie Taylor will be aiming to tap into the euphoric sporting mood sweeping the city since their beloved Red Sox baseball team reached the World Series for the first time in five years on Thursday night.
They won the American League Championship Series 4-1, beating the defending champions the Houston Astros on the road, which means Matchroom Boxing’s show is the biggest sporting gig in the city tonight.
The 32-year-old Bray pugilist is the star attraction and her clash against Cindy Serrano is now top of the bill after the cancellation of the Billy Joe Saunders-Demetrius Andrade bout.
“This will be a home-from-home fight for me,” suggests Taylor, who will almost certainly claim the biggest purse of her professional career – estimated to be well in excess of $100,000 (€87,000) – in only her 11th professional fight.
In professional boxing the next fight is always the most important and this is certainly the case with Taylor. She might be 1/25 with the bookies but she has everything to lose with her WBA and IBF belts up for grabs.
Serrano, 36, is an inch taller than Taylor
and is by far the most experienced boxer the London Olympic gold medallist has faced in her professional career.
Born in Puerto Rico, Serrano has lived most of her life in the New York borough of Brooklyn.
She made her professional debut in 2003, when Taylor was probably better known as a soccer player, having scored four goals for the Republic of Ireland U-19s in a UEFA women’s qualifier against Macedonia a couple of weeks after Serrano won her first fight.
Serrano has fought 37 times, winning 27 (10 inside the distance), losing five and drawing three. She has never been stopped
in his career. The only Taylor opponent who had a comparable record was Argentinian Victoria Noelia Bustos who had 21 fights on her CV before she surrendered her IBF lightweight belt to Taylor in a cracking contest in Brooklyn in April.
A one-time World featherweight champion, Serrano hasn’t lost a fight since 2012 and boasts a 13-fight unbeaten run – 12 wins and one draw – going into tonight’s fight.
However, it cannot be ignored that she has been relatively inactive in recent years, lost her WBO featherweight title when she only defended it once, and is effectively moving up two weights tonight.
This fight will only be her third outing since December 2016, whereas Taylor has fought on 10 occasions since her pro debut the previous month.
Serrano is not a full-time professional boxer – she runs a fitness business along her younger and better-known sister Amanda, who has won six World titles across various weights in women’s boxing.
The pair have sparred together for years and Amanda – a probable future opponent for Taylor even though she insists her future is in MMA – credits her older sister for introducing her to boxing.
At the final press conference, Serrano didn’t boast that she would beat Taylor but she did promise to take her the distance.
Given the speed of her punches, allied to her excellent footwork, Taylor is capable of out-boxing arguably any other female fighter – regardless of weight.
However, at times when it would be more sensible to allow her boxing skills dictate, she likes to get involved in battles, such as in the latter stages of her fight against Bustos when the two fighters stood in the centre of the ring and exchanged blows, much to the delight of the crowd.
Serrano will try and entice Taylor into a war and given her experience she will be well-versed in the darker art of pro boxing.
But so long as the title-holder keeps her at a distance she ought to chalk up her 11th win and keep her two World belts, though it won’t be a surprise if the fight goes the full 10 rounds.
Guarantee
It could also be a night to remember for Belfast’s James Tennyson who can all but guarantee his financial future if he manages to wrestle the IBF World super featherweight title from American Tevin Farmer, who only secured it in Australia in March.
The 25-year-old Poleglass native will be aiming to live up to his reputation as ‘The Assassin’ against a slick southpaw.
“This is such a big opportunity for me,” said Tennyson.
Gorey heavyweight Niall Kennedy as well as former European Games medallist Sean McComb from Belfast will also feature on the programme. Katie Taylor v Cindy Serrano, Live, Sky Sports, from midnight