The Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano women’s 10-round lightweight title unification bout is primed to set all kinds of records pertaining to purse, profile, and pedigree. With so much attention foisted on their bout, Brooklyn-based Puerto Rican Serrano doesn’t see why they shouldn’t up the ante and push for the inauguration of one of the most debated topics in women’s boxing: increasing their title bout to 12 rounds with each round fought at three-minutes apiece, instead of two, just as it is in men’s boxing.
Serrano, brought up the challenge to Ireland’s Taylor during a press conference Monday in London to promote their title bout, which will take place April 30 at Madison Square Garden. One issue: Taylor wasn’t much interested in the idea.
“We’re making the biggest payday, both of us,” Serrano began. “I think we should continue to make this fight iconic, make [changes] in this game. If Katie Taylor is willing, I’m ready and able to make this an equal fight: 12 rounds, three minutes.
“I say if you want to make change, we should make it on the platform [we have] right now, DAZN. We’re making headlines, we’re talking, we’re getting interest. This is about equality and we should make the change right now.
“So, Katie, you up for it?”
“12 three-minute rounds?” Taylor asked.
“12 three-minute rounds,” Serrano reiterated. “Let’s do it like the men.”
Taylor responded, ”I don’t think it will make a huge difference to the event, it’s already iconic as it is.”
Later in the presser, Serrano, alluding to recent unflattering comments on women’s boxing made by promoter Bob Arum, doubled down on her insistence for pushing for increased minutes.
“If we want to get people to notice us and not get these promoters to talk badly about women, I think we need to take a stand,” Serrano said.
That prompted Taylor to respond, “I think we’re making a stand the way we’re fighting each other in the first place. The best fighting the best. This fight is actually even more important than we realize. Not only are we breaking the ceiling with female purses, but we’re actually changing perceptions.”
Even if Taylor had agreed to Serrano’s terms on the spot, it’s not likely their title bout – for which binding contacts have been signed – can be retrofitted in such a manner. The decision would require the unanimous approval of the promoters and the sanctioning bodies, whose titles both Serrano and Taylor are fighting for and which are responsible for lending the event so much historical weight. Moreover, the head of the WBC, Mauricio Sulaiman, has publicly stated that his organization will not sanction any women’s bouts that consist of three-minute rounds, citing research that shows that women are more susceptible to concussions than men. On that view, if 35-year-old Taylor (20-0, 6 KOs) and 33-year-old Serrano (42-1-1, 30 KOs) were to push for three-minute rounds, that would mean their title bout, in theory, would be downgraded to a unification bout, not an undisputed championship.
After the press conference, Serrano, whose co-manager is Jake Paul, expressed her disappointment with Taylor’s response.
“I thought she would’ve been on board with it because she’s always talking about equality and making a change for women’s boxing,” Serrano told a group of reporters. “I thought she would have been on board, because this is our platform, this is our time to showcase women’s boxing, making history. Why don’t we just continue to make history together?
“We both deserve this platform. I thought it was going to be a different answer.”