Boxer Amanda Serrano breaks down gripping Katie Taylor match: "Now people…know women can fight"
Professional boxer Amanda Serrano said she's ready for another rematch against Katie Taylor after losing the undisputed women's lightweight title by unanimous decision via three scores of 95-94 in the featured undercard bout ahead of last weekend's main event between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Taylor had retained the title after their last nail-biting fight at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2022.
"I believe I won the fight, which means we have to go for the third fight," Puerto Rico's Serrano told "CBS Mornings Plus" co-hosts Adriana Diaz and Tony Dokoupil on Thursday, confirming she's "100% interested" in a rematch. This time, she's requesting that it be fought under the men's rules, which is 3-minute rounds with a maximum of 12 rounds.
There was a lot of "excessive headbutting and excessive holding" throughout the 10-round rematch, Serrano said. Serrano continued the bout despite having a huge gash over her right eye. The cut was split open even more after a clash of heads in the sixth round, but a doctor cleared Serrano to resume the match. Taylor was docked a point by the referee for a headbutt in the eighth round.
"I want to apologize to everybody for that gruesome cut; it wasn't my fault," Serrano joked, adding that the doctor did a great job stitching it up afterward.
Taylor "likes to come in with her head," Serrano said, adding that she doesn't necessarily believe it was intentional. "That's how she fights."
According to Netflix, roughly 74 million average viewers worldwide watched the captivating fight between the pair, making it the most-watched women's sporting event in history.
"Now people who've never seen boxing before, never knew women fight, know women can fight," Serrano said, adding that it was "truly an honor" to perform on such a huge platform.
Serrano praised Jake Paul for bringing viewership and revenue to the sport of boxing and said she's honored to fight under the boxing promotion company Most Valuable Promotions, founded by Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021.
"A lot of people didn't know women fight until he brought me along," Serrano said of Paul. "And he brings in the money. My biggest payday was my first fight on his undercard and it's just gotten bigger since then."
