This is the age of results denial in the US and as Katie Taylor sat in Madison Square Garden theatre on Wednesday evening, she was clearly out of patience.
Ever since her win over Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano after a ferocious and primordial contest in Dallas last November, her opponent has made little secret of her disdain for the result. That decision, following 20 minutes of relentless close-quarter boxing which became uncomfortably vicious at times, was unanimously scored 95-94 in front of a partisan crowd of 70,000 many of whom booed the announcement.
Taylor was in hostile country in Texas that night. It was arguably the finest performance of her two-decade career. Serrano’s eye was bloodied after two head collisions and ugly accusations of headbutting were levelled against Taylor. The win complemented the Irish woman’s classic 2022 win over Serrano after their first meeting here in New York in 2022.
The world has aged in dog years since then. Now, as the summer mobs strolled Eighth Avenue, she found herself back in the famous arena for the final act of a trilogy. Serrano and Taylor have not changed much. But there was a sense that even though they are uniquely suited to concocting bouts of mesmerising, high violence in the ring, they have soured of one another as people. At least for now.
“I mean I have my own opinion of the stuff Amanda has been saying and the fact is I am two and 0 against her,” Taylor said in addressing the tetchy relationship between the camps.
“Opinions are opinions. But facts are facts. I guess I am just sick and tired of the whining and complaining from the other team. Just the complaints about the decision, the headbutts, whatever. The only thing that matters is that I am two and 0 against her and I plan to be three and 0 Friday night.”
On Friday, Taylor and Serrano will headline an all-female card dreamed up by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, the Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founders who have again linked up with Netflix.
The live-streamed press conference was produced to the gaudy and glittery overkill to which professional boxing has long succumbed. Taylor is a seasoned professional but has retained the amateur’s austerity even as her star has risen in the money world. Sitting in these events, with the booming music and the catcalls from the crowd, she manages to be the chief attraction while somehow remaining at a distance from the whole show. She was introduced as the penultimate fighter, even though she has all the belts. And she confirmed that while the fight was set at 63.5kg (140lbs), the contract stipulates a 61.6kg (136lbs) weight limit.
“Yeah, the fight is at 136lbs,” she said evenly.
“That was in the contract. But obviously all these belts are still on the line. And I know that I coming out on stage first here. I am being announced first in the ring on Friday night as well. But this is an MVP show. I don’t really care about that kind of stuff. My mindset doesn’t change. This stuff is just ... nonsense really. I just step in there with a champion’s mindset. I am as hungry as ever. And this is just an MVP show. I know that everyone behind MVP are against me. But that’s okay.”
In the media huddles afterwards, Bidarian moved to address what Taylor had said when asked his opinion of the Irish fighter.
“A humble human being who obviously has dedicated her life to this sport. Family oriented. And just a great person. You know, she made a comment on that stage where she said everyone in MVP is against me. So, at the end of that face-off, I said, Katie, I hope you don’t feel like that’s the case. She said, Nakisa, I didn’t mean to say that, I don’t know why I said that. I said there’s no need to apologise I just want you to know we are not all here campaigning in the background.”
But there’s no question many of the fans in Madison Square Garden on Friday will be from the Puerto Rican enclaves within the boroughs.
Crossing at the lights on Eighth Avenue, a chatty Englishman who had travelled over to see Taylor said he believed she’d have to stop her opponent outright to wring a third successive victory. Inside, the spectators were mainly there to support Serrano and Taylor laughed her way through the jibes – “You were using your head”; “Fix” – that were shouted from the shadows in the auditorium. Serrano is the extrovert of the two women, playing the crowd and lightly repeating her belief that she didn’t lose that night in Texas, despite the result.
“Losing is never fun,” she said brightly.
“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. Like Jake Paul says, turn that L into a W.”
Taylor waited a tick before leaning into the microphone to counter with understated stubbornness.
“But you did lose the fight.”
Oddly, the event was another reminder of the diminishing Irish emigrant story. New York is not an Irish town in the way it once was. Scroll through the decades to other landmark boxing moments in the Garden, from the carnival that followed John Duddy’s rise 20 years ago, to the autumn night in 1984 when half of Connemara descended from south Boston to see Sean Mannion fight Mike McCallum. Or the immortal day when the city was sufficiently crowded with residential and visiting Irish to turn Giants Stadium green for the World Cup meeting against Italy. So, it was odd to note just how few Irish fans were scattered around the half-empty auditorium for what was an open-to-the-public event. And it was sweltering outside around Penn Station: if they’d advertised the air-con, the arena would have been filled 10 times over.
Taylor will have her Irish fans on Friday night – the fight will be start at around 3am Irish time – and they will be vocal. But the era of the city Irish having the clout to own an event like this may have passed.
And on Wednesday evening, Taylor’s mind was where it is usually to be found on the eve of the fights that have defined her life: already fixated on what will happen when the bell goes. She’s never had much time for the endless talking, and the cameras, and the questions.
“I absolutely hate these things to be honest,” she said afterwards.
“I’m not a natural trash-talker- and I don’t think it’s trash-talking. But I just responded to what has been said. And enough is enough of the nonsense and all the complaining and whining about the decisions. I don’t mind speaking my mind when I have to. To be headlining such a huge card and an all-female card is an absolute privilege. It’s an amazing situation. These are the kind of nights I actually dreamt of as a kid. To be in this position, to headline a big show like this full of these amazing women behind me.”
That’s where she’s at: 39 years old since July 2nd, a figurehead for women’s boxing, just young enough to enjoy another big pay-day. Her four undisputed super-lightweight titles on the line against an opponent whose persona grates on her a little. But together with Serrano, Taylor produces dark, compelling, brutal sport.
Laila Ali, the former professional and the daughter of Muhammad Ali, will be among the judges on Friday night. Her presence is a bloodline to the smoky magic of the early 1970s when boxing in this venue held the entire world in thrall.
There can’t be too many of these thunderstorms left in Taylor and the chances that, with Serrano, she is edging towards producing a contest that will rank high in the folklore of Madison Square Garden fights.
