Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano rivalry turns spiteful as women’s boxing icons lash out: ‘Embarrassing herself’

As they gear towards the third instalment of their epic rivalry this summer, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano appear to have grown tired of the typical friendliness that mellowed the buildup to their previous encounters.

Given the first two chapters provided such breathtaking quality in the ring, and that both women already cemented their status as all-time greats a long time ago, there was less need than ever for the Taylor vs Serrano story to suddenly turn spiteful. Yet that is exactly what happened at Wednesday’s launch press conference in New York City ahead of their July 11 trilogy bout.

Amanda’s protests over the contentious judging verdicts which have left her trailing 2-0 are beginning to grate on Katie, who won both of those tightly-contested battles on the scorecards. The second, despite being a unanimous decision, was certainly the more controversial of the two, with Serrano adamant the scores should be level after their latest punishing war in November.

A question about Taylor’s reluctance to switch to three-minute rounds rather than the usual two-minute affairs sparked the unexpected dispute inside a packed Theater at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. This time around, there are few pleasantries on offer.

‘The challenger shouldn’t be dictating the terms of the fight,’ the Irish fight legend insisted. ‘I am two-and-0 here and I’m in the driver’s seat here, and that’s only right.

‘At the end of the day, Amanda needs this fight a lot more than I do.’

‘You can’t say you’re a real fighter and never wanna do the three [minutes],’ Serrano responded. ‘I respect you, but we did shake on it.

‘You know if we have an extra minute it won’t go your way.’ 

Taylor, perhaps looking to tick off one of the last-remaining boxes on her list by getting involved in some trash talk for the very first time, branded her nemesis ‘delusional’ as tempers flared over the result last time out.

And after the press conference, she continued the war of words by hitting out at the ‘nonsense’ coming from both Serrano and her outspoken manager Jake Paul.

The undisputed super-lightweight champion told DailyMail.com: ‘Enough is enough of the nonsense over the last few weeks and months.

‘I’m just so sick of the silly comments from their side and all the excuses. I can’t wait to hear their response after I beat her again on July 11. It’s ridiculous all of the comments.’

When asked what’s pushing her buttons in particular, Taylor added: ‘Just the fact that she [says she] won the fight. She didn’t win the fight. If you watch the fight, she did not win the fight. I am two-and-0 and I’m pretty certain I’m gonna make it three-and-0 on July 11.

‘I think she genuinely believes [she won the fight], that’s why I called her delusional.’

For her part, Serrano stressed that her disagreement with the judges’ scorecards in November should not be mistaken for petulance.

‘I feel like I won both fights,’ she argued. ‘The first one was close, but the second one I thought I won unanimously. I thought the scorecards would go my way but they didn’t.

‘And it’s not complaining, it’s not crying… no. I’m not the only one. How many millions of people watched that night and are saying the same thing?

‘Listen, if I had a dollar for every person that told me I won, I wouldn’t be fighting this fight right now.’

Paul then interjected: ‘Same. Everyone came up to me in the streets for like weeks after saying “Amanda won!”‘

Another touchy subject is Taylor’s apparent use of her head in the rematch, which Serrano claims caused the gruesome cut she suffered midway through the contest at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.

The Puerto Rican star posed for their face-off on Wednesday wearing headgear in a dig over the alleged headbutts, a stunt Katie was far from impressed by.

‘That’s just nonsense again isn’t it,’ she fumed. ‘She’s embarrassing herself at this stage.’ 

On the accusations that she leads with her head, Taylor said: ‘I don’t think anyone really believes they were any more than accidental really. That happens in boxing, especially when a southpaw fights an orthodox. We both came together when we tried to land. I also had a cut from those headbutts, it hurt my head as well.

‘In one sense she’s saying she’s willing to die in the ring, and then in another sense she’s complaining about headbutts. It’s so hypocritical. Just get on with the fight and do what you have to do.’

Regardless of this newfound animosity, Taylor and Serrano’s trilogy fight is almost guaranteed to deliver when the two great rivals stop the talking and climb into the ring to do what they do best.

Their past wars have been so brutally and frantically competitive it is almost cruel that either of them should have departed with a loss on their record on each occasion. Their third meeting should provide the same fireworks as they come full circle and head back to Madison Square Garden, the scene of their first memorable scrap.

But when asked how she can negate Katie’s alleged headbutts and earn what would be the sweetest of victories at the third time of asking, Amanda couldn’t resist ramping up the mind games again.

‘Wear headgear…’