“It’s Katie Taylor time, baby!” - the words of Amanda Serrano after her dominant victory over Miriam Gutiérrez last Saturday in Florida.
These are the words being echoed by all onlookers with an interest in women’s boxing - as the undisputed women’s lightweight title megafight now looks a real and distinct possibility after both fighters claimed big wins.
For the potential marquee fight to happen two things needed to precede it. First, Taylor needed to beat Firuza Sharipova on December 11; whilst Serrano then had to take care of business against Gutierrez.
After Taylor handled Sharipova with relative ease all eyes were on Serrano to see if she could hold up her end of the bargain. As it transpired, the 33-year old Puerto Rican battered and bloodied Gutierrez for ten rounds to close in on what will be the biggest fight in her career if it happens.
Both camps remain in negotiations but Serrano’s promoter, the Youtube star Jake Paul, is confident that they’ll get the go-ahead.
After his knock-out win over Tyrone Woodley, which saw Serrano on the undercard, Paul declared: “I’m going to do everything in my power to make that fight the biggest female boxing fight in the history of the sport and a historic moment.”
It just needs Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions to arrange the right deal with Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn and to convince the boxing organizations too. There will certainly be no problems with getting broadcasters involved - a fight between the undisputed world champion and a seven-division world champion is sure to entice their interest.
It will also be hugely popular with boxing fans who will be eager to asses the best boxing odds on the title fight once it has been confirmed. If it is agreed, Taylor (20-0, 6 KOs) would be looking to make the sixth defense of her four belts while Serrano (42-1-1, 30 KOs) would ride a 28-fight winning streak into the most significant and lucrative fight of both their careers.
The early betting odds are favoring Katie Taylor -200 at most sportsbooks. That’s an implied win probability of 66.67%, with a $200 wager netting you $100. The underdog will be Serrano coming in as a +165 underdog, some real betting value here on “The Real Deal” here with a $100 bet making a $165 profit.
“We are both pound-for-pound top three,” Serrano told media members after her recent victory.
“Some people have me at two or three, it doesn’t matter how you look at it - two pound-for-pound girls going at it. You have an undisputed champion and a seven-division world champion going after each other.
“That’s the mega fight that will blow off the roof. We’re looking at Madison Square Garden, the main (room). It’s going to be an amazing night.”
Meanwhile following Taylor's win, Hearn revealed that Paul holds the cards to get the clash between the two biggest names in women’s boxing. With Paul already using his trademark bullish tones to big-up the possibility of this happening, it will take something big to prevent a highly-placed fight on a strong card at Madison Square Garden.
It would be a bout to set both of them up for life and on that subject, Paul has recently been taking the lead on the subject of pay disparity in women’s boxing - music to both Serrano and Taylor’s ears.
Paul has only been involved in professional boxing for two years but he feels one area that needs addressing is better pay for female fighters. The 24-year-old says the prospect of a Taylor-Serrano bout is so satisfying because 'she (Serrano) deserves the money and the notoriety more than I do'.
He added: “She’s put in thousands and hundreds of hours in the gym and she deserves the big payday that she’s going to get. She deserves to be able to retire from boxing and not work again.
“That hasn’t been the case for women’s boxing, they’ve been underpaid and taken advantage of and it’s an amazing accomplishment for me to be able to help her and she’s such an awesome person.”
With some observers confident that Serrano will be crowned the best women's boxer before long, that it has taken the Youtube-famous showman to shine a brighter spotlight on such an established and successful fighter is a travesty, but it is finally the recognition that Serrano deserves.
Female boxer Heather Hardy has also had her say on the pay issue, speaking to Carl Frampton’s TKO podcast she spoke about how Taylor is the only one earning anywhere near $1m per fight but how that is still way behind the male counterparts.
“I don't think anyone is getting paid like Katie” she said, adding “but she is unifying all the belts in her weight division, she's an Olympic gold medallist and she's not getting paid like a man.
“It goes back to what you said - that women should be grateful [that the situation is improving]. I'm sure she has this blanket over her head, of feeling, 'I'm still making more than every other woman'.
“But it still isn’t right. No freedom ‘til we’re equal man!”
The expected clash between Serrano and Taylor has been earmarked for April 2022.
