On April 30th Katie Taylor will face Amanda Serrano in a contest perceived by many to be a career defining fight, but the bout-albeit an historic and momentous occasion-will not define her legacy, which has already been secured by the unbeaten trailblazer.
A win would undoubtedly add some gloss and shine to her decorated career and in Serrano, Taylor finally has that opponent, that foe that she has long searched for, a fighter of equal footing in terms of profile and stature. It is a name that matches up to her own and the Puerto Rican combat star has contributed greatly to the progression and advancement of women’s boxing, so overcoming her challenge would solidify those greatness claims. That is what Taylor is chasing, greatness. She said this of the fight back in February, “I hope to be known as the greatest of all time soon. I want to make history in this sport, I want to leave a great legacy in this sport.”
Bidding to cement that legacy, Taylor and Amanda Serrano-sister of Cindy who was defeated by Taylor earlier in her career-will collide at one of the most iconic venues in boxing, headlining at Madison Square Garden in one of the biggest ever clashes between two female boxers, it is for all the belts at lightweight and will have an immeasurable impact on the landscape of women’s boxing. They are giants of the sport with Taylor in particular having such an incomparable growth in profile, especially under the careful guidance of Matchroom, who have gradually moved her towards titles and unifications. In truth though, her star appeal has been rising ever since the world was treated to her bewitching skills as an amateur. Those green, white, and orange Irish flags that adorned various world championship and Olympic venues have followed her throughout her journey, dancing and rippling away in support of Irish boxing’s pied piper.
From earning Olympic Gold at London 2012 in one of the most raucous occasions witnessed at an Olympic boxingvenue, to headlining in the US and becoming undisputed lightweight world champion, the Irish enigma has almost done it all, but it is the way in which she has accomplished what she has that is perhaps the most impressive. As well as boxing, her religious faith and her love for her family are the pillars that provide the structure for such success. She does not have betting companies emblazoned on her apparel, nor does she endorse any product that may go against her religious beliefs and media appearances are scarce outside of promotional obligations. It is something that is seldom seen now, with most modern-day boxers increasingly keen on utilising social media exposure.
Are we more intrigued as a consequence of the nature of this quietly spoken-yet instantly identifiable-star? We do not know much about her personal life, we do not know much about this huge star, yet we are drawn in purely by her talent and application. Few boxers demonstrate such concentration in fight mode. That laser-like steely gaze is often on display, her deep brown eyes fixed on her opponent in the opposite corner, listening intently to the instructions from her trainer like a machine under command to destroy. If Katie Taylor’s approach appears mechanical, then her style is mesmerising, bursts of combinations 1-2-3-4, then back out of range, waiting for the next opportunity to capitalise with accurate counters. Even the snippets of her training drills still leave most of us in awe, those short, piercing bursts on the pads, rat-a-tat-tat, not only rapid but loud enough to indicate they are solid shots. It has a rhythm and intensity that could be likened to a purposeful solo from a drummer in a rock band.
Despite being up against a formidable opponent, one thing Taylor does know, is exactly how to win fights. Her approach has not altered significantly from the amateurs and the 2-minute round format has suited the rapid bursts of pressureshe applies during fights, so much so that Serrano has been keen to suggest 3-minute rounds for the fight, whether that is for equality or to suit her own strategy remains to be seen.
Taylor is the slight underdog with most bookmakers, which will not concern her, but it is a fight that could go either wayand the all too familiar cliché of fights being 50-50 in this case is justified. Taylor herself acknowledges the fact she is in a tough fight. Speaking in an interview with givemesport Taylor said “It’s definitely a 50-50 fight. I think that a lot of people will have me, and a lot will have her before the fight. I love being involved in these kinds of fights.” Taylor has been in tough fights before, notably against Delphine Persoon (twice) whose all-out aggression very nearly prevailed and Tasha Jonas who can be proud of her efforts against her old amateur adversary. But Taylor has always had a knack of retaliating to a good shot with three or four of her own, often having the final say. The fact that after such a difficult fight in the first bout against Persoon, she chose to face her again despite the obvious challenges in style shows that she wants the difficult fights, she relishes the challenge of being the very best.
There will be those who fear that the Irish star is not the force she was, that may be based on her the fact she is 35 years old, and they expect her to slow down, but she hasn’t been in too many wars and her clean lifestyle means that her conditioning will surely be as impeccable as it always is.
Irrespective of the outcome of this fight, Taylor will be regarded as a pioneer of the sport for years to come. Aside from her tangible achievements, she has shown that it is okay to be female and want to box. She often attended gyms as a youngster, tucking her hair into her headgear so as to appear male, just for the right to fight. Whilst the stigma has not been completely eradicated, she has done so much to help change the opinions and the antiquated views around females competing in boxing and won gold in the first ever Olympic games to feature female boxers. There are plenty of ways to get eyes on the sport but Katie Taylor has always been comfortable raising the profile of the sport her way, with dignity and professionalism, some will say there are no right or wrong ways of getting more attention on women’s boxing, but if young girls and boys are looking for a role model in how to conduct themselves or how to go about succeeding in a sport with more trapdoors than springboards, then they need look no further than the current undisputed lightweight world champion.
Shaun Rye of SimBoxx
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