Taylor vs Serrano 3: ‘The final chapter of an all-time great sporting rivalry’


Their first fight earned them $1m (£737,000) each, with that number quadrupled when they fought in Texas, with more than 50million people tuning in to watch a gripping rematch, which is firmly in the mainstream.

The New York venue was the scene of the first episode in one of sport’s greatest trilogies when Joe Frazier inflicted defeat on Muhammad Ali for the first time, only for ‘The Greatest’ to turn the tables over their next two fights.

Arturo Gatti v Micky Ward will forever be fondly remembered as the quintessential trilogy, and this rivalry is woven into the same tapestry, while, in terms of great female sporting duels, it’s right up there.

Tennis had the Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova era of the 1970s to 1980, the baton picked up by by Steffi Graf and Monica Seles before the great sibling rivalry of the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus.

Basketball has recently produced Caitlin Clark v Angel Reese, while the Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah will be forever intertwined.

Taylor and Serrano are undoubtedly in that bracket and, in time, may be remembered as the best of them all.

It takes two to tango and the pair have proven to be the ultimate dance partners, their styles gelling superbly, and, as we approach round 21, there is little doubt we are in for another fight-of-the-year contender.

Despite Taylor holding all the aces, she is the ‘B-side’ this week, with Serrano enjoying all of the perceived ‘house fighter’ advantages in terms of walking to the ring second but, perhaps more significantly, successfully lobbying for this bout to take place at a 136lb weight limit, four pounds below the accepted 10st target for the division.

However, Serrano took her time to land the scales later than the agreed 9am. Make of that what you will.



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