Wicklow Wonder Katie Goes For 'Three-Peat' To Reinforce Greatness At Expense Of Amanda Serrano

Katie Taylor will look to put Amanda Serrano to the sword in their much anticipated third fight in New York

The Bray Bomber Katie Taylor will look to reinforce her hard fought and clearly defined legacy as boxing's greatest ever female pioneer today.

The Olympic champion and multiple professional world champion will meet her great modern rival in the form of Amanda Serrano of Puerto Rico in New York.

Both Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano have made weight, keeping below the agreed 136-pound limit, ahead of their third fight later in New York.

The pair face off at Madison Square Garden, headlining an all-female fight card.

Ireland’s undisputed super lightweight champion boasts a record of 24 wins and just one defeat with six of her wins by way of knock out while Brooklyn’s Puerto Rican boxing trailblazer, unified featherweight world champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano has a formidable 47 wins to her name with three defeats and one draw with 31 wins by knock out.  

Netflix has hyped up 'Taylor -v- Serrano 3' for months, and overnight, early morning Saturday the time for hype will end at the grand old staging point that Madison Square Garden.

In the lead into the fight and despite her usually measured media offerings, Taylor has expressed frustration with her opponent's pre-bout complaints.

The Bray woman says she's had enough of Serrano's "whining" ahead of their much anticipated third fight in the Big Apple.

The Puerto Rican boxer also complained about Taylor's use of her head during their rematch won by Taylor last November.

Photo Credit: Sarah Steir / Getty Images for Netflix

On the narratives being put out in the media since the last fight Katie said: 

“I have my own opinion about the stuff that Amanda has been saying on our team, but the fact is I am 2-0 against her. Opinions are opinions, but facts are facts and you can't get away from those facts. And yeah, I guess I'm just tired of the complaining and the whining from Amanda’s team. I'm going into this fight already beating Amanda and I plan to stay beating her. I plan to stay 3-0 come this Friday night.”

On definitively beating Amanda Serrano for a third time…

“I feel like people haven't seen the best me yet and I can't wait to showcase that on Friday night. I can definitely make the fight a lot easier for myself and I just can't wait to step in there now and actually perform. I know that I can't perform and produce the best performance of my career.”

On why she’s taking this fight again in response to Amanda’s direct question…

“I'm taking the fight again because I love the challenge of this. I want to take the best fights. It doesn't really matter to me, I just want to take the biggest challenges, the biggest fights in women’s boxing and after the last fight, this was still the biggest fight in women's boxing. So that's why I'm taking it. Why not take the challenge again? I believe that I can beat [Amanda] again. That's why I have taken the fight again.”

On the possibility of a fourth fight…

“Well, I am taking the third fight. If she wants a fourth fight, I'll take it as well. But we'll see what happens. Let's just focus on Friday night.”

On not accepting three-minute rounds this fight…

“Well, because I won the second fight, I think it would've been a lot different if she was a champion, like I said in the last press conference. She's not in a position to dictate the terms of the fight. I'm the champion, she's not."

On this fight being different from the other two…

“This fight is even bigger than the last two. And to be headlining such a huge card, an all female card, is an absolute privilege. It's an amazing situation. I actually dreamt of as a kid to be in this position, headline a big show like this, [and] headline a show full of these amazing women behind me.  It is an absolute privilege to be in this position and I just thank God that I'm here and I'm two days away from making history again.” 

On how it feels to be closing the trilogy with Amanda…

“This is a history-making event. The sport is in a position where we're headlining a top-quality all-female card. Every single female fighter here is an outstanding fighter. We're going to see the best of women's boxing on Friday night. It's going to be live on Netflix for the whole world to see. This is a huge moment for women's sport. I think just being in this position for myself and Amanda is probably the biggest accomplishment of our lives.”

Amanda Serrano has had her say...

On the concerns of her cut from the previous fight... 

“If I had concerns, I would not take the fight. I'm a warrior. I'm going to get in there. If that cut happens, we're prepared. You saw what I did. I fought to the very end and the last fight and I will do it again and over and over again if I have to. I'm a warrior.”

On Katie Taylor not accepting three-minute fights…

“If she knew she was the dictator and the champion, she should have never accepted the challenge or shook my hand on it, but it is what it is. We're going to go off in two minutes.”

On rebuilding her confidence after the previous loss… 

“Losing is never fun, but you only lose if you feel like you lost. And I didn't feel like I lost. My team told me I didn't lose. They're proud of me, so I'm okay. Like Jake Paul says: ‘You turn that L into a W.”

On what it would mean to win in her hometown at Madison Square Garden…

“It truly will be an amazing feeling when everything comes together. And yeah, to bring those belts back over the bridge will be really cool.”