‘This is the proudest moment’: Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 3 turns historic with cavalcade of women’s champions

The event topped by the historic trilogy clash between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano has officially become a carnival of champions.

A major statement was made long before either legendary boxer spoke during Wednesday’s press conference at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City. Ireland’s Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) and Puerto Rico’s Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KOs) eventually had their say at the kickoff press conference to formally announce their highly anticipated third championship meeting, but hours before the supporting cast was assembled on stage, Most Valuable Promotions released an avalanche of news on its latest signings and details on the all-women’s undercard.

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The July 11 Netflix boxing event from MSG’s main room — the site of Taylor’s split decision win over Serrano in their memorable April 2022 slugfest — will feature five lineal champions appearing across four bouts. Taylor vs. Serrano 3 and Alycia Baumgardner vs. Jennifer Miranda will both come with undisputed championships at stake, while Ellie Scotney vs. Yamileth Mercardo (lineal, WBC, IBF, WBO junior featherweight) and Dina Thorslund vs. Shurretta Metcalf (lineal, WBC, IBF, WBO bantamweight) represent multi-belt unifications.

Baumgardner, the undisputed junior lightweight queen, and Thorslund, the lineal and unified WBC/WBO bantamweight champ, were previously confirmed additions to the MVP roster. The signings of Scotney (10-0, 0 KOs), lineal and unified at 122 pounds; Metcalf (14-4-1, 2 KOs), the IBF bantamweight titlist; and Miranda (12-0, 1 KOs) and were revealed early Wednesday morning.

Taylor (No. 2), Serrano (No. 3), Baumgardner (No. 7) and Thorslund (No. 10) are all slotted within the top 10 in the world on Uncrowned’s pound-for-pound women’s boxing rankings.

“Most Valuable Promotions is proud to be leading the global charge in women’s boxing — backing it with the kind of investment, vision, and belief that’s long overdue in this sport,” MVP co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian jointly told Uncrowned.

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“Stacking Taylor vs. Serrano 3 with an unprecedented lineup of elite talent — including MVP’s newest signees Alycia Baumgardner, Ellie Scotney, Jennifer Miranda, Dina Thorslund, Shurretta Metcalf, and Tamm Thibeault — reflects our mission to not only showcase the best, but to build a future where women fighters are given the same platform, respect, and paydays as their male counterparts.”

As much was noted by both main event participants, both of whom have long ago proven an ability to carry an event on their own in a still very male-dominated sport.

“We’re not going to disappoint the fans,” vowed Serrano, Puerto Rico’s only undisputed champion in the four-belt era and a record-setting seven-division titlist. “The fans will be the true winners, and let me tell you something — the fight of the night is up for grabs.

“You don’t know which one of these fights will be wearing that crown, come July 11.”

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Taylor, 38, somehow raised the bar in complimenting the loaded lineup. The driving force behind getting women’s boxing in the Olympics beginning with 2012 London, Taylor has long ago blazed an inspiring trail for women and young girls to follow.

Yet, the 2012 Olympic Gold medalist, two-division undisputed champion, two-time women’s Fighter of the Year and Ireland’s eight-time Most Admired Athlete of the Year couldn’t help but witness in awe the pound-for-pound talent that accompanied her on stage.

“I just think this is an amazing event, this is insane,” Taylor told Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani. “Looking back at my career, this is the proudest moment. This isn’t just an all-female card, it’s one of the best cards in history from top to bottom.”

Both statements are quite the compliments paid to the undercard, considering Taylor vs. Serrano 1 (2022) and Taylor vs. Serrano 2 (2024) were the runaway favorites as the best women’s fights for each of their years.

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The first meeting was about many things, though equality was a focal point of their promotion. Taylor and Serrano generated massive mainstream interest, complete with a fight week appearance on NBC’s “The Today Show” and astonishing viewership and box-office results.

Taylor vs. Serrano 1 — the three-year anniversary of which comes later this month — marked the first women’s combat sports fight to headline at MSG, long ago hailed “The Mecca” of sporting events. Their unforgettable 10-round lightweight championship came in front of a sold-out crowd announced at 19,187, which generated $1,450,180.60 in ticket sales.

That 10-round DAZN headliner was watched by an estimated 1.5 million viewers, destroying the mark as the over-the-top platform’s most-watched boxing event topped by women.

The fight itself forever linked two of the sport’s all-time best. Taylor and Serrano have both led Hall of Fame careers and permanently raised the bar for women in boxing, yet it has nearly become impossible to mention one without the other.

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What they were able to produce in their rematch this past November only further proved that point.

It was already blockbuster news that Paul managed to bring former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson out of a near 20-year ring exodus for their novelty bout. More so, that it topped the first-ever boxing event to air on Netflix. But the real fight of the night — as far as boxing fans were concerned — was the anticipated sequel between Taylor and Serrano.

Part two took place one division higher than the first, at junior welterweight, where Taylor claimed her second undisputed championship one year prior. It came only after her first career defeat at the hands of Chantelle Cameron, who ruined Taylor’s long-overdue May 2023 homecoming bout at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, before revenge was gained by the Irishwoman six months later.

Ironically, that May 2023 date was originally reserved for Taylor vs. Serrano 2, though those plans were trampled when Serrano still hadn’t fully healed from preexisting injuries she carried into her February 2023 undisputed featherweight championship win over Erika Cruz.

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Their resurrected meeting this past November proved well worth the wait. It also put both legendary boxers in an entirely new spotlight — not that they necessarily needed any more profile than already generated over the course of their spectacular careers.

The run for Taylor began during the early years of her brilliant amateur career. Serrano was forced to learn on the job and has only transformed into a global superstar since signing with MVP in 2021 — specifically, with the first Taylor fight providing a massive springboard.

Last November’s unforgettable second meeting gave the world something to talk about, in every regard. Their 10 rounds of nonstop action were no worse than on par with their first fight — and have garnered praise as arguably the greatest women’s fight of all time.

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Uncrowned’s 2024 Women’s Fight of the Year was also witnessed by an estimated 74 million viewers, the most watched female sporting event in U.S. history

The lone criticism to come from the fight — aside from Netflix’s buffering issues that night — was its outcome. Taylor prevailed by unanimous decision — 95-94 on all three cards — to retain her 140-pound crown. To this day, she contends it was a win well-earned and not worthy of post-fight debate.

“Yes, of course I won,” Taylor insisted Wednesday. “It was an amazing fight. We had two of the best in the history of boxing. They were two very, very close fights. I think the margins were very, very tiny. But I think that I deserved the decision.

“You have to respect the decisions. If you look back, it’s clear that I won those two fights. It’s ridiculous we’re even debating it.”

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Serrano countered not only with her belief that the decision should have gone her way, but with proof of global support.

“I could understand if it was just me,” noted Serrano, who will fight at 140 pounds for the third straight time for the trilogy match. “But it was millions of people.”

For those who felt Serrano was robbed that night, the outcome added insult to literal injury. The 36-year-old Boricua southpaw had to spend more than seven rounds with a gruesome cut over her right eye, the cause of one of the bout’s many head clashes.

Taylor lost a point in the eighth round for leading with her head, a deduction she described as “ridiculous.”

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That opinion was not at all shared by Serrano, who mocked Taylor’s tactics by wearing headgear during their post-press conference staredown on Wednesday. It was the fitting closure to a rare media event that unexpectedly featured a spirited verbal exchange, uncharacteristic from both fighters and especially the generally reserved Taylor.

A point of contention — aside from the ongoing debate over who won the rematch — was their respective stances on the in-ring terms for women’s championship fights.

Serrano previously held the undisputed featherweight championship. A decision in late 2023 for her bouts to take place over 12 three-minute rounds — the same as men, as opposed to the usual 10 two-minute rounds mark for women — was a dealbreaker with the WBC. Serrano ditched “one of her babies” as a result, and proceed with her scheduled 36-ring-minute championship defense against Danila Ramos, whom she defeated via unanimous decision.

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Taylor has remained content with the modified 20 minutes of ring time afforded to women’s championship bouts. It’s a stance she maintained to the point of dismissing Serrano’s claim that she reneged on a previous handshake agreement to fight under traditional men’s terms.

“I think we shook on the pact of, do you want to fight,” insisted Taylor. “Regardless, it’s a matter of principle. The challenger shouldn’t dictate the terms of the fight.

“I am 2-0 here. I’m in the driver’s seats. It’s only right. At the end of the day, Amanda needs this fight a lot more than I do. I have a long history of big fights, a line of people in queue waiting for the payday.”

That part did not at all sit well with the other side.

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“You shook on it, not knowing if I was going to win or lose,” Serrano insisted. “I respect you, Katie. I will continue to respect you in and out of the ring. But we did shake on it, not knowing (the outcome). If you did call the shots, you should’ve called the shots that day. You shouldn’t have shook my hand. You know if we had an extra minute, we all know who was going to win.”

“Oh really?” wondered the champ.

“You need this fight a lot more than I do,” repeated Taylor, before driving home her final point on the subject. “The thing about three-minute rounds was to prove you’d get more knockouts. How many knockouts did you get in your 12 three-minute round fight? Zero. … The fight was boring, it wasn’t a good fight.

“I don’t think Netfiix are too disappointed this is a 10 two-minute rounds fight.”

For boxing, the only disappointment would be if we didn’t get a third — and perhaps, final — act between Taylor and Serrano. On that, both champion and challenger once again found common ground.

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“This is still the biggest fight,” Taylor admitted. “The first two fights were absolutely epic. They were the Fights of the Year. Number three is going to be big as well. I just want to be part of the biggest fights in history.

“I am 2-0 against Amanda but I want to prove myself once more.”

Even with the thought of avenging two disputed defeats, this event still represents so much more for Serrano. Her journey with MVP will continue long after the day she decides to hang up the gloves. Serrano’s future with the company will come as the chairwoman of MVP’s boxing initiatives. She is already a driving force behind its stellar lineup of women in boxing — unquestionably the deepest lineup in the sport, in that regard.

With that role comes tremendous responsibility, though not unlike her — and Taylor’s — everyday walk of life as a role model for the next generation.

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Serrano has already created boxing history in a multitude of ways. The mission remains the same through and beyond her in-ring career — to leave the sport in a much better place, and to continue to build on that momentum.

“This is truly a great opportunity for all of us to shine,” Serrano said of all the show’s participants. “They’re going to do that … on July 11. I’m just honored to be a part of MVP, where they’re giving us our biggest paydays, and on the biggest platform with Netflix, and the biggest stage at MSG.”

The comparative take from the company co-founders is all the proof needed by Serrano that her career- and life-changing move in 2021 was unquestionably the right call.

“On Friday, July 11, we’re shining a global spotlight on a new wave of champions,” reiterated Paul and Bidarian. “Six of the top 15 pound-for-pound fighters in the world, four ranked in the top 10 — who are redefining what’s possible every time they step into the ring.”