Monday 2 May 2022 The Guardian •••37Taylor and Serrano truly earn
the respect – and money – their
excellence and courage deserve
Analysis
Bryan Armen Graham Madison Square Garden“We billed this as the biggest
female fi ght of all time,” said
Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, who
promotes Taylor. “And it became
one of the biggest fi ghts in boxing
today. What we witnessed was one
of the greatest fi ghts in the history
of Madison Square Garden.”
It was the night that women’s
boxing has desperately sought
and deserved for years: the fi rst
summit meeting between the
consensus No 1 and No 2 on the
men’s or women’s pound-for-
pound list since the second fi ght
between Manny Pacquiao and
Juan Manuel Márquez in 2008.
Organi sers planned for a crowd of
about 10,000, then were forced to
reconfi gure the seating to open the
entire arena due to demand.
For Taylor, who became a
celebrity after winning gold at the
2012 London Olympics and was
familiar to the public before turning
professional, there was a sense her
career was building to this. The
35-year-old from Bray is a proper
athlete: whether unifying world
titles or banging in wonder goals forIreland’s national team, one gets
the sense that she would be doing
this even if there was n ot a pay
cheque at the end of the day.
But for Serrano, who joined
the pa id ranks three years before
women’s boxing was added to the
Olympics and failed to benefi t
from the mainstream visibility it
aff orded, there was no certainty
this night would ever come. At
33 the Puerto Rican native – now
living in Brooklyn – captured
world titles in seven diff erent
weight classes from 115lbs to
140lbs but has been unknown to
all but hardcore boxing fans for
most of her career.
Serrano found herself relegated
to the margins of a sport where
men with résumés similar to hers
are routinely among the world’s
highest paid athletes. S he recalled
once being paid $1,500 to defend
her world title.
No longer. And thanks largely
to an improbable partnership
with YouTuber-turned-boxer-
turned-promoter Jake Paul,
who has given one of boxing’s
most decorated yet overlooked
champions the promotional boost
she has needed to reap the fi rst
seven-fi gure purse of her caree r.
Women’s sports are having a
moment, i n case it has escaped
notice. Only hours before the fi ght
on Saturday, Lyon defeated PSG
before a record crowd of 43,255
for a women’s Champions League
game in France.
But ultimately, it is down to
the product. And the immediate
calls for Taylor-Serrano II in the
aftermath of the fi ght will surely
keep the momentum going.
Both Taylor and Serrano were
open to the idea of running it back
in Ireland, where Taylor has yet to
fi ght as a professional. But Hearn
said Madison Square Garden
offi cials have already inquired
about doing the rematch in the
autumn. Let the bidding begin.
“We all want to see the best
versus the best,” Taylor said.
“We’ve seen something special
here tonight but imagine fi ghting
in front of 80,000 or 90,000
people at Croke Park. Absolutely
that can happen.”W
hat was billed as
the biggest night
in the history of
women’s boxing
somehow
exceeded the
breathless hype that preceded
it. Whenever Katie Taylor was
shown on the Jumbotron in the
hours leading up to the main event
on Saturday, the steady roar of
the crowd jilted to ear-splitting
volumes. It was the same for
Amanda Serrano, only slightly
louder. That crackling energy built
throughout the evening, amid lusty
singalongs of Wonderwall , Sweet
Caroline and The Fields of Athenry,
to the type of atmosphere not seen
in the big room at Madison Square
Garden since Félix Trinidad and
Miguel Cotto.
And that was before the fi ght
itself. And what a fi ght it was :
high-intensity combat between
two top operators over 10 white-
knuckle rounds before a sold-out
crowd divided by their allegiances
but united in full-throated, well-
lubricated enthusiasm.
“We were saying before that
when you think of Madison
Square Garden, you still talk about
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier ,”
Taylor said. “Now people will be
talking about myself and Amanda
Serrano for years and years to
come. This is a history-making fi ght
and it defi nitely lived up to the
expectations.”
Whether the unforgettable
encounter was a case of catching
lightning in a bottle or the dawn of
a new normal for women’s boxing,
no one can say. Not every fi ght
will have the benefi t of featuring
the world’s two best fi ghters
regardless of weight. But th is fi ght
has laid down a new benchmark
for what is possible with sustained
investment.en
▲ Katie Taylor (right) lands a punch
square on Amanda Serrano’s jaw‘Best moment’
‘A rematch
would be
phenomenal’
Bryan Armen Graham
Madison Square GardenThe wry grin pasted across Katie
Taylor’s bruised face told the whole
story. Ireland’s greatest athlete had
just roar ed back from near-defeat and
retain ed her undisputed lightweight
title against Amanda Serrano before
a sold-out crowd of 19,187.In the early hours of yesterday
morning at Madison Square Garden
Taylor said the win was “ the best
moment of my career ”, adding: “ I
don’t just show courage on fi ght
night. I show courage every day in
training. That’s why you train hard,
for those moments in the trenches.”
From there Taylor delivered the
fi nishing kick of a champion, winning
the fi nal three rounds on all three
judges’ scorecards to keep her WBA,
WBC, IBF and WBO lightweight titles.
“My corner was saying to me that
I needed the championship rounds. I
did what I had to do. I showed a cham-
pion’s heart as I always do.”
The exceptional quality and nar-
row margin of the fi ght – a showdown
between the consensus No 1 and No 2
fi ghters on the pound-for-pound listin women’s boxing – all but ensures a
rematch. Taylor was quick to embrace
the prospect. “We all want to see the
best versus the best,” she said.
“A rematch would be phenomenal.
If it was in Dublin, we could sell out
Croke Park. We’ve seen something
special here tonight but imagine
80,000 or 90,000 people at Croke
Park. Absolutely that can happen.”
Taylor and Serrano became the
fi rst female fi ghters to headline a bill
in this storied venue’s 140-year his-
tory and the fi rst women to earn more
than $1m each from a single bout.
“I think both myself and Amanda
have broken so many barriers over
the last few years in our sport ,” Taylor
said. “ I guess we’re both winners in a
certain way tonight for what we did
and what we achieved.”▲ Ronnie O’Sullivan is a model of concentration as he dominates the fi nal
LEWIS STOREY/GETTY IMAGESSnooker Betfred World ChampionshipO’Sullivan rockets away
from teetering Trump
When Ronnie O’Sullivan is in the
mood and the stakes are so high,
being close to perfect on the baize
is the minimum an opponent needs
to stand a chance. Judd Trump
found that out here to devastating
eff ect as his self-confessed dream
fi nal slowly turned into some thing
of a nightmare.
It was a peculiar opening day in the
fi nal of this year’s world champion-
ship, to say the least. At the midway
point of the day’s play O’Sullivan held
a 5-3 lead over Trump but the Bristo-
lian had won the fi nal two frames of
an absorbing afternoon session and
O’Sullivan had become embroiled in
a fascinating moment of controversy.
This involved an angry exchange
with the referee, Olivier Marteel, as
he returned to his seat after fouling
on the yellow. Marteel said O’Sullivan
had made a gesture which ultimately
led to him receiving a formal warn-
ing, but not before O’Sullivan had
angrily responded, waving his fi nger
at Marteel and subsequently not fi st-
bumping the referee after the session
had concluded.
At that stage one might have
wondered where O’Sullivan’s mind
was at. Could he regroup for a crucial
evening session? The answer, perhaps
unsurprisingly, was emphatic. Trump
won the fi rst frame of the evening but
O’Sullivan won seven of the next
eight and what many neutrals hoped
would be a thrilling fi nal day of this
year’s Crucible extravaganza now
threatens to be some thing of a damp
squib, at least in terms of drama.
The ultimate accolade of a seventh
world title, equalling Stephen
Hendry’s modern-era record, is nowwithin six frames for O’Sullivan. He
was at his majestic best in patches
here, gliding around the table making
a series of imperious breaks to leave
Trump resigned to the best seat in the
house, watching a maestro at work.
But O’Sullivan was aff orded some
of those opportunities only after a
series of misses Trump would do well
to avoid watching back. Trump had
pulled it back to 5-4 at one stage but
in frame 10, a limp safety attempt left
O’Sullivan in the balls. That error, and
the subsequent break of 66, set the
tone for a chastening evening for
Trump and his supporters.
Another half-century followed.
Then Trump missed a black off its
spot and O’Sullivan put his opponent
to the sword with a break of 97 to go
8-4 ahead. A missed pink in the next
frame then left O’Sullivan at the table
again and, once more, he capitalised
to devastating eff ect. A break of 87
then made it 10-4 and one began to
wonder what Trump could salvage.
He stopped the rot with a gritty
break of 80 but normal service
resumed soon after, with O’Sullivan
now in ominous mood as he swept
aside the fi nal two frames with ease.
Tonight ’s intended evening session
could, if O’Sullivan returns in the
same mindset, not even take place.
It was all a far cry from the drama
of the afternoon, when Marteel
and O’Sullivan clashed. O’Sullivan
then conducted a rare post-session
interview with Eurosport when he
continued to aim his frustration
at the Belgian referee, who ulti-
mately gave him a formal warning
for his behaviour.
“I just think he [Marteel] seems
to be looking for trouble,” he said.
“I just get a vibe from the guy. ”
It will certainly make for good
viewing in O’Sullivan’s upcoming
Netfl ix documentary, for which he
has worn a microphone throughout
the tournament.
But in true O’Sullivan style he
reverted to letting his snooker do
the talking. It is almost universally
accepted that The Rocket is the
greatest player ever to pick up a
cue. He is now six frames from
endorsing that view.Aaron Bower
The Crucible Sean Ingle column Page 31▲ Judd Trump shows his dismay
as his potting prowess deserts him