Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano: Can Taylor pull off one more miracle?

Watch: Taylor beats Serrano in historic fight in New York

By Coral Barry
BBC Sport at Madison Square Garden

Although a supremely talented fighter, it has been Taylor's unshakeable faith inside and outside the ring that drove her towards her crowning moment at Madison Square Garden.

The mecca of boxing in New York provided the perfect backdrop to a fight that will live long in the memory of fans. Forget the significance of the night and it was just a brilliant, non-stop rollercoaster of a fight.

"Tonight was just fantastic - I had to dig deep in there. I had to produce a career-defining performance," said Taylor, who moved to 21-0. "We definitely got the best out of each other."

Although the loser, Amanda Serrano proved herself every inch the star she's been insisting she is for the past 13 years.

Taylor was given the lion's share of the credit for bringing the first female headliner to MSG, but Serrano was the perfect dance partner. Her Puerto Rican support was rapturous, matching the Irish contingent cheer by cheer. Serrano's selling power was probably underestimated going into this fight, but there is no denying she is a special talent, one half of an astonishing event.

And astonishing it was, considering how far Taylor has come to reach this point.

In 2016 should a Nostradamus-esque soul have predicted two female fighters would headline at the Garden, they would have been ridiculed.

But to understand Taylor's unshakable belief one must understand what she had already achieved.

'The best moment of my career' - Taylor & Serrano react after 'unbelievable' bout

'Changing a country's view of women's boxing' - so what next?

Taylor was 14 when she began boxing in her hometown of Bray. Her mother Bridget, who was ringside in New York, grew up in a country where women's rights were actively diminished by Irish lawmakers. It was a hostile place for women who refused to play to gender standards.

No divorce, no autonomy, no contraception and certainly no professional women's sport. Successive female presidents - Mary Robinson took office four years after Taylor's birth - was the result of decades-long efforts to change the way a country viewed women.

Getty Images

Katie Taylor with mother Bridget after her world title defence against Amanda Serrano

In the 1970s Ireland's leading feminists travelled across the border on the 'Contraceptive Train' to buy condoms. Contraception of any kind was banned in the Republic. It would remain that way until 1985.

A year later Taylor was born. Ireland was only beginning to change. Taylor would have been the poster girl for the perfect Irish woman before the woman's movement took hold. She was soft-spoken, deeply religious and family orientated. But her desire to fight and be seen doing so inspired a fresh cultural shift in Ireland, a revolution that has now spread to the shores of America.

This may all seem inconsequential to Taylor's journey, but Taylor's achievements cannot be appreciated in isolation of her gender and the place she grew up in. 'The Bray Bomber' changed a country that would have demonised a female fighter into a country that would worship her.

She pretended to be a boy so she could box until Ireland was convinced to sanction women's boxing. Taylor's vision has always remained singular - it was the same mission to change the pros as it was to change the amateurs.

Winning gold at the London 2012 Olympics was the impossible dream realised. But Taylor's epic against Serrano has once again set a new standard of excellence for her. "The best night of my career, for sure," Taylor said. "I wasn't sure if anything could reach my Olympic medal moment."

Now there seems to be one more goal left on the to-do list: a homecoming.

'One final miracle to return pro fighting to Ireland'

Taylor v Serrano - an iconic fight for women's boxing

The rematch with Serrano appears a certainty, with both women and promoters calling for it. Taylor's promoter Eddie Hearn has thrown down the gauntlet once more to his history-maker - a fight in Ireland.

"I have no plans of retiring right now," said Taylor. "I love fighting and I just want to keep making history."

If there is a fighter who can bring world championship pro boxing back to Ireland, surely it is Katie Taylor. There is a kind of shadow ban on major professional boxing events in Ireland ever since the fatal gangland shooting at a weigh-in at the Regency Hotel in 2016.

That incident left one man, David Byrne, dead and was just one incident in an ongoing feud between Dublin's two biggest gangs, the Kinahan cartel and the Hutch gang. Last month boxing advisor Daniel Kinahan was hit with sanctions by the United States.

The Irish government may feel boxing has shown few signs it is prepared to clean up the sport since the shooting. In 2018 Taylor's own father and former coach, Peter, was shot in the arm when a gunman opened fire at his boxing gym. It is a huge task to convince Irish authorities that major boxing events should resume.

Taylor and Hearn appear to have set their sights on Croke Park, which can hold more than 80,000 people.

The question, however, is not whether Taylor v Serrano 2 could sell 80,000 tickets, but if Taylor can pull off one final miracle and bring major boxing back to Ireland.

Related topics