Did Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor III Disappoint?

(JULY 21) Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano’s incredible trilogy and rivalry, in many ways, has been the female boxing equivalent of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. This might serve as quite the eyebrow-raising bit of hyperbole given the stature of those two boxers. Still, we’ve got to remember that even as little as two decades ago, few female fighters got paid enough money to turn their love of boxing into a full-time vocation. But did the event match prior expectations? Let’s have a look.

Global Anticipation: Did It Help or Hinder?

Having stood toe-to-toe in two hotly contested and epic showdowns up to now, Netflix picked up the third fight, which was set to take place in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. You only had to take a look at the hashtag trending on social media to see just how much anticipation there was; the sportsbooks offered a deep range of markets, which is still rare in women’s sport.  

Although online gambling at Bovada has been the market leader for betting on female boxing for a long time, it speaks to the underlying buzz surrounding this type of market. Gone are the days of female fighters fighting for legitimacy next to their male counterparts, and the size of the market on Netflix and the online gambling markets attests to that.  

The idea of this happening a decade ago would’ve been next to impossible. Now, the ladies are bringing in the crowd, delivering action-packed, elite-level action, and they’re being appropriately paid for their services to the sport - it’s come a long way since the beginning of this century. It is a rivalry that has forever changed the world of womoen's boxing.  However, did this also lay the foundation for their third bout to be an anti-climax?

Razor-Thin Margins

You only need to look at how the bookies had all three fights; there was barely anything separating them. In fact, with many bookmakers, Serrano entered the second fight as the favorite, despite losing the first. Although many believe she did enough to earn a draw at the very least, including her promoter, Jake Paul, who himself has ventured into the world of pro boxing. 

Personally, I preferred the cleaner, sharper work of Serrano, but I understand entirely why Taylor got the nod. She was more aggressive at times, forcing the action, and although she walked through some thunderous shots, it was this controlled aggression that ultimately won her the fight.  

It was a fight that swept up many boxing awards, with many people labelling it the fight of 2022, and not just in women’s boxing, but for the men’s too - they were right. It was a watershed moment, and the fact that it took place in front of a sell-out crowd at MSG helped to cement that the women’s version of the sport had truly arrived in a global setting.

History Repeating Itself

Except for Ali and Frazier, there are many trilogies throughout the sport's history that have failed to ignite a spark. Usually, they’ll follow a pattern of: 

	●  The 1st fight - A fight of the decade candidate.
	●  2nd fight - Highly anticipated, but not living up to the third.
	●  3rd fight - Usually years too late, and failing to ignite.

It’s fair to say that in comparison to their first two fights, the trilogy was a bit of a dull affair. Was it still a great fight? Yes. Was the anticipation palpable throughout the MSG? Again, yes. However, after a tentative first couple of rounds, especially the first, both ladies stayed entirely out of range.  

Unlike the first two fights, there wasn’t the ebb and flow. Taylor’s tenacity was matched by Serrano’s rapid combinations and zippier footwork. Taylor was doing enough to win the rounds, but they were close. It did have shades of many of the other unnecessary trilogies we have seen over the years. 

We saw it most recently with the third Golovkin-Canelo fight, which was a completely unnecessary exercise given how much Golovkin had slowed down. Many boxing fans are unaware that Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran had a third fight, a lackluster event that took place when Duran was nearing 40, nearly a decade after their first iconic bout. So, in many respects, it was to be expected.

Did It Disappoint?

Now, do these two ladies deserve a huge money fight on Netflix to bow out of their glittering careers? Of course they do. Taylor has won multiple world titles and multiple Olympic gold medals, as has Amanda Serrano.

But perhaps, with both of them now having millions of dollars in the bank and having already earned each other's respect, that’s why it didn’t catch fire. Still, as far as boxing trilogies go, it ranks among the greatest of all time and is undoubtedly one of the most influential, considering the many doors it has since opened for women in the sport of boxing.  

The fight itself might have been lukewarm, disappointing fans who were looking for a re-run of the first two, but as an event and a celebration of women’s sport, it was an enormous success.