Tale of the tape
Here’s a look at how Taylor and Serrano measure up ahead of tonight’s main event. Physically, there’s not much to separate them. Serrano has a slight half-inch edge in height, while Taylor has the same advantage in reach. Their knockout percentages make it clear this is a match between the fighter and the boxer: Serrano has stopped 61% of her opponents inside the distance compared to 25% for Taylor.
Serrano hit the contracted 136lb catch-weight on the nose at Thursday’s weigh-in, while Taylor came in two-tenths of a pound under.
Key events
Early indications suggest a heavily pro-Serrano crowd. Notably, during the break between the sixth and seventh rounds of the last fight, the large video screens in the Garden flashed to Taylor then Serrano getting their hands wrapped in their dressing rooms. It was crowd’s first glimpse of either of the main event fighters tonight and it seemed the louder reaction was reserved for the Brooklyn-based challenger. That would be a shift from their first fight in this room back in 2022, where the audience allegiances felt split right down the middle.
Shadasia Green unifies 168lb titles
Shadasia Green has just won a 10-round split decision over Savannah Marshall to unify the IBF and WBO super middleweight titles. Two of the ringside judges tipped the 35-year-old from Paterson, New Jersey, by scores of 96-93 and 95-94, while the third had it 96-93 for Marshall.
Green was overcome by emotion after the scores were announced. She adds Marshall’s IBF title at 168lb to her own WBO belt.
Marshall, the 34-year-old from Hartlepool, does not dispute the result but is not happy with the margin on the 96-93 card. “To give me two rounds,” she says, amid boos from the crowd. “All I wanted was a fair fight.”
That leaves one more undercard fight before the main event: a 10-rounder between Alycia Baumgardner and Jennifer Miranda for Baumgardner’s undisputed junior lightweight championship. After that, Taylor and Serrano will make their entrances.
Preamble
They’ve landed a combined 861 punches, fought 20 rounds without a single knockdown and helped alter the course of women’s boxing history. Tonight at Madison Square Garden, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano step through the ropes for the third and very likely final time. One last dance. One last chance at closure.
This is more than a fight. It’s the culmination of a rivalry that has elevated the sport. In 2022, their first meeting was hailed as a landmark moment: the first women’s bout to headline the Garden, a ferocious spectacle before a raucous crowd that forced promoters to open the upper decks. Taylor edged it on a split decision many still debate. Their rematch last year in Texas was marginally more decisive, with Taylor again declared the winner but not without controversy. Serrano, bleeding from a deep cut above her eye, accused her rival of leading with her head. Taylor bristled at the suggestion: “Opinions are opinions, but facts are facts. I plan to stay 3-0.”
Now comes the trilogy bout and a shot at resolution. Taylor, 39, is putting her WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles on the line at a catchweight of 136lb. She is a two-division undisputed champion, Olympic gold medallist and arguably the most accomplished female boxer of all time. But her defining foil is Serrano: the 36-year-old Puerto Rican-born, Brooklyn-raised southpaw who’s won world titles in seven divisions and brings relentless volume and grit. If Taylor is the technician, Serrano is the engine. If Taylor is the icon, Serrano is the insurgent. And neither has much left to prove – except to each other.
Adding to the stakes is the backdrop: the first all-women’s professional card in Madison Square Garden history, streaming globally on Netflix. Alycia Baumgardner, Chantelle Cameron, Ellie Scotney, Savannah Marshall and Ramla Ali all feature, but it’s Taylor and Serrano who close the circle they started drawing two years ago.
This fight may not crown a new champion or undisputed queen. But it could finally provide the clarity their rivalry has lacked – or stir the call for a fourth. Either way, the bell is coming. And we’ll be ringside for every second of it.
How to watch Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano III
The broadcast will stream live globally on Netflix starting at 8pm ET (1am BST) at no additional cost to subscribers. The broadcast will feature live commentary in English, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Brazilian Portuguese and French.
It’s uncertain when Taylor and Serrano will make their entrances for the main event, but it won’t happen before 11pm local time (4am BST).
The first three undercard bouts not carried by the Netflix stream will be available free on Most Valuable Promotions’ YouTube page starting at 5.30pm ET (10.30pm BST).
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look at Thursday’s weigh-ins.
