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Andreas Hale
After two extremely close and record-breaking fights, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano will square off for a third time for Taylor’s undisputed super lightweight championship on July 11 and headline a historic all-women’s boxing card at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Organizers confirmed the trilogy fight with ESPN on Thursday.
The event, promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, will be streamed live on Netflix.
“It’s only fitting that during Women’s History Month that we are able to announce this must-see trilogy between two of the greatest female athletes of all time, on an all-women’s card,” Jake Paul said to ESPN.
“Unlike many new and old incumbents in boxing, MVP has, does and will always champion women as equals to men, treating them with supreme respect and we will never compromise on those values,” MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said. “This all-women’s card is not only a testament to how far the sport has come but also the beginning of an even greater push from MVP to elevate the next generation of female fighters.”
Taylor and Serrano’s previous two encounters were history-making events. Their initial meeting happened on April 30, 2022, and was the first time women headlined a fight card at Madison Square Garden. Taylor won a close split decision in front of a sold-out crowd. The rematch served as chief support of Paul’s blockbuster showdown with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on Nov. 15, 2024. Taylor successfully defended her undisputed super lightweight titles with a controversial unanimous decision over Serrano.
Their rematch was streamed on Netflix and shattered records with 74 million average viewers globally, becoming the most-watched women’s sporting event in U.S. history and was named the 2024 Women’s Fight of the Year by ESPN.
“After we finished the fight on Nov. 15, Netflix came to us and said they wanted to do more with Most Valuable Promotions,” Bidarian told ESPN. “The one thing they were absolutely clear on is that they wanted to see this trilogy and we came back to them with the idea of doing an all-women’s event that would really uplift the women of the sport on their platform with over 300 million global subscribers. They bought in immediately.”
Like Paul-Tyson, Netflix will stream the blockbuster event on a Friday night. The all-women’s undercard will be announced at a later date.
Fighting out of Ireland, Taylor, 38, is ranked No. 2 on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list and has been undisputed in two weight classes. After beginning her professional career 22-0, she suffered her first loss when she moved up to super lightweight and lost to then-undisputed champion Chantelle Cameron in May 2023. She avenged the loss in a rematch later that year to become undisputed and successfully defended against Serrano last November.
“I’m 2-0 against Amanda but it’s obviously a very special rivalry that delivers every time we step in the ring, so I think it’s only right that we have the trilogy,” said Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs). “The atmosphere for the first fight there was amazing and I’m sure it won’t be any different this time around.”
Fighting out of Puerto Rico, Serrano, 36, is ranked No. 3 on ESPN’s pound for pound list. She holds the Guinness World Record for the most boxing world championships won in different weight-classes by a female, having held nine major world titles across seven different weight classes. Since suffering a decision loss in 2012, Serrano has gone 33-2-1 with her only two losses coming against Taylor. But the competitive nature of those losses warranted a third fight.
“I promised my fans they would see this trilogy, and I’m incredibly grateful that we get to complete our journey where it all began — at Madison Square Garden, live on Netflix for the world to see,” said Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs).
The first two bouts were 10, two-minute rounds, the standard in women’s boxing, and the third fight will be the same. However, Serrano has openly pushed for 12, three-minute rounds for the third fight to be equal to men’s championship fights. According to Serrano, the two fighters were unable to come to an agreement for 12 three-minute rounds in the third fight.
“I’m disappointed that Katie Taylor did not keep her word and make the trilogy 12 three-minute rounds, equal to the men,” said Serrano. “This is a record-setting payday for both of us, and we owed it to the fans to honor the handshake deal we made. She didn’t. But make no mistake, every time we share the ring, it is war, and I know Friday, July 11, will be the greatest yet because I will finally get the official ‘W’ I deserve.”
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