WHEN Cindy Serrano was offered the chance to fight Katie Taylor she had two words to say: “Hell, yeah”. So Taylor expects the toughest fight of her career to date against the experienced New Yorker on Saturday night.
Double Olympic gold medal winner Taylor has gone to 10-0 in her pro career and defends her IBF and WBA titles against Serrano (27-5-3) who expects the fight – one of three world title rumbles on the card - to go the 10-round distance.
Taylor has prepared for a hard night’s work at the TD Garden.
“I can’t wait,” said Taylor at yesterday’s press conference at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.
"I think it's going to be my toughest fight to date." @KatieTaylor on fighting Cindy Serrano.
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) October 18, 2018
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“This is going to be a home from home here in Boston and from what I hear there’s going to be a huge Irish contingent in the stadium on Saturday.
“It’s great to be able to share the stage with the likes of James Tennyson, who’s fighting for a world title as well, Niall Kennedy and Sean McComb so there are a lot of Irish fighters on the card and I can’t wait for it.
“I think it’s going to be my toughest fight to date, she is obviously very experienced as a tough, seasoned pro. But these are the type of fights that I actually relish and this is why I turned professional two years’ ago, to be involved in fights like this.
“I had a really great training camp and I feel in great shape.”
Taylor is one of the standard-bearers for women’s boxing along with the likes of Claressa Shields, Heather Harding, Cecilia Brækhus and Serrano’s younger sister, five-weight world titlist Amanda.
“It’s a great time for women’s boxing and it’s great to have the opportunity to fight on these platforms. It’s on a high at the moment and there are plenty of great fights out there and no shortage of fights around the lightweight division which is great news for myself.”
A Serrano win would be a shock but the Puerto Rican native had no absolutely no hesitation in taking the fight.
“When the call came: ‘Do you wanna fight Taylor?’ I said: ‘Hell, yeah!’,” she explained.
“This is what opportunities are for. We are two great females, people who don’t get a lot of recognition so we said ‘Let’s do it’.
“Let the best meet the best and may the best woman win.”
Serrano has moved up in weight to 135lbs but she has fought above the lightweight limit before and doesn’t expect it to be an issue.
“Female fighters just have to go up and down, you have to go where the fights make sense and this fight does make sense,” she said.
“She is an awesome fighter, it made sense so we did it. Who doesn’t like to eat?
“Women’s boxing coming to the fore
“Eddie Hearn and Lou Di Bella have done a lot for the sport, I was a Di Bella fighter for 16 years. Female fighting is where it’s at, we fight and we fight hard, there are a lot of us who fight with skills, like myself. We’re entertaining and, at the end of the day, we are beautiful.
”Style makes fights, Katie hasn’t fought anyone who has my style and I’m ready. I have trained hard for 10 rounds and I’m in great shape and excited for the fight. I’m hype and happy and it will be a great fight. It will definitely go the distance and may the best woman win – if it’s me, it’s me; if it’s her, it’s her. It’s definitely going to be an entertaining fight over 10 rounds. All 10 rounds.”
