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One of the most desired fights in female boxing in 2022 would be a potential pitting between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
The undisputed lightweight champion Taylor (20-0, 6 KOs), from Ireland, and featherweight queen Serrano (42-1-1, 30 KOs), a Puerto Rican based in Brooklyn, have both been gaining serious steam toward a showdown in recent weeks.
Taylor’s promoter in Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn has been pounding the table for the super fight, as has Serrano’s camp, which is now led by Jake Paul and his new upstart company Most Valuable Promotions, headed by right-hand man Nakisa Bidarian.
Should a Serrano bout not shake out, however, the 2012 Olympics gold medalist Taylor has her sights on a crossover fight between arguably the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time in Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and 2022 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Holly Holm.
“I know there was mention of those [Cyborg and Holm] fights,” Taylor told The MMA Hour. “But I don’t think we ever seriously talked about it. Obviously, their names came up over the last few years and there’s still a huge possibility that those fights can happen. If they’re the fights that people want to see, I’d absolutely love to be involved.”
The 40-year-old Holm (33-2-3, 9 KOs) boxed professionally from 2002 to 2013 and was a three-division world champion before transitioning into MMA. “The Preacher’s Daughter” started her MMA career in 2011 and has fought exclusively in the UFC since 2015. Holm (14-5 MMA) is best known for knocking out Ronda Rousey and handing “Rowdy” her first career loss to win the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 193 in 2016. At the time, Holm was undefeated but soon after failed to defend her title. Holm has a 4-5 record ever since her career-catapulting win.
Cyborg, who has also won championships in the UFC, Invicta and Strikeforce, has long been lured by a career in boxing. She fought twice as a boxing professional in 2013 and 2014, winning her debut via TKO and losing her next fight via unanimous decision.
In May, Cyborg said she was interested in fighting Taylor in both the cage and in the ring.
“[Bellator president] Scott Coker said maybe we do one boxing fight and one MMA fight,” said Cyborg told Sky Sports. “I don’t have a problem with that. If I have time to train for boxing, I will have no problem. I love challenges. Boxing is one of my dreams. I know Taylor is skilled, I know how good she is. I have nothing to lose. For a boxing fight I would need time to focus just on boxing. So I don’t think it will be this year because I have a lot of MMA fights. Next year? Maybe.”
If logic were to prevail, however, negotiations would instead soon begin for Taylor, 35, versus Serrano, 33, to be staged next. It’s a fight both camps equally want, and one of which Paul wants to pursue by leveraging his fastly growing platform.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make that fight the biggest female boxing fight in the history of the sport and a historic moment,” said Paul.
Should Serrano and Taylor eventually square up next, they will have an equal amount of rest.
Taylor scored a rugged unanimous decision win over Firuza Sharipova on Dec. 11, while Serrano stepped in the ring a week later on Dec. 18 for the second straight time as the co-feature for a Jake Paul fight and dominated Miriam Gutierrez in a lightweight bout.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com