Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden
NEW YORK - Amanda Serrano was born in Puerto Rico. The 33 year old is now living and training in Brooklyn as she prepares to make boxing history.
And she is well aware of the impact she’s about to have on the sport.
In between one of her training sessions in March, Serrano tells FOX 5 NY, "I'm excited to say that I made it. I never thought that I will be able to, but I'm fighting the main event at Madison Square Garden! Who thought that in a million years, I’d be making seven figures, a young Latina from Brooklyn. I never thought it would happen."
Serrano trains at Green Fitness Studio NYC in Brooklyn. And as she spars with her trainer, and does conditioning drills in the ring, she knows the countdown is on for April 30th. That’s when Serrano, who is a seven-weight World Champion, and is currently the Unified Featherweight Champion holding WBO, IBO and WBC Titles … will face, Katie Taylor … the undisputed lightweight champion from Ireland, who recently won the Gold Medal at the 2021 Olympic Games … will fight in the first-ever boxing event at Madison Square Garden, in their 140 year history, where two women are headlining the main event at this iconic venue.
A venue, Serrano can call home.
"I'm excited that I'm going to have a lot of people out there cheering for me and going for me because I mean, there's going to be a whole bunch of bouriquas, a whole bunch of Latinos, and a whole bunch of Irish people, that's for sure," declares an excited Serrano.
On February 2nd, Madison Square Garden made the official announcement that Serrano and Taylor would fight as the top billing. Both fighters came together, meeting for the first time in person, live on Good Day New York. Serrano was there with her promoter, Social Media Celebrity and Professional Boxer, Jake Paul. Taylor was on hand with her team as well for the historic moment.
Serrano says, "I want other women, girls to see us fighting and think, ‘I can do that too, I can now headline Madison Square Garden. Right now is the best time to be a female boxer."
Serrano who is a southpaw, is known as "The Real Deal." She trains regularly with her older sister, Cindy, who is a professional boxer herself. Cindy inspired Amanda to pick up the boxing gloves after years of competing in Mixed Martial Arts. In 2016, Cindy and Amanda became the first sister duo to hold major world titles at the same time. Today … Cindy works Amanda to reach her fullest potential. She pushes her to never give up. And during a training session you can see the intensity between the sisters. Amanda says, "We know each other so well, and she knows sometimes this sport isn't easy and there are times where it’s up and down and down. But she's always there to pick me back up and push me and say, ‘Let's go for a run’, ‘Let's do this … you have to do this, Amanda, you have to eat, you have to do that.’ So it's an amazing dynamic between me and her. And we're sisters, we’re best friends, we’re sparring partners. At times, I hate her, but I love her. She has made me who I am."
Serrano also wants to grow the sport for women. During this training session, Serrano is observed by six teenage girsl from S.C.O. Family Services, visiting the session via Madison Square Garden’s "Garden of Dreams Foundation". The group is a guest of not just Serrano, but also actor, choreographer, activist and proud Brooklyn native, Rosie Perez, who is not just a boxing fan, but an expert, who has recently become a television commentator on the sport.
Perez says, "Amanda Serrano … to reach this point in her career means everything because I did start with her earlier in her career and she never gave up. She wasn't paid the amount of money that she should have been paid. She's a seven time, seven world division champion. She should be making multi millions of dollars, but she stood fast and she was tenacious and dedicated."
Serrano is grateful to Perez for her support, saying, "she's been in my corner from the very beginning. She's a proud Bouriqua, a Latina, and she's just such a big supporter"
Perez gets emotional as she watches Serrano train and says, "When I see Amanda Serrano step into the ring April 30th at Madison Square Garden, I think I'm going to be full of tears. I'm going to be screaming "Bouriqua!" and I think half of the Garden will be screaming the same because, you know, it’s really something, Madison Square Garden has a reputation of headlining Latin fighters, specifically Puerto Rican fighters like Miguel Cotto. So I believe that the Garden is going to be packed with Puerto Ricans!"
The open training session was about Serrano sharing her journey and paying it forward to the next generation. 12 year old Jamiyah Lee, from Bedford Stuyvesant, is a young boxer herself. And she got to step into the ring for some one-on-one instruction with Serrano.
When Jamiyah got home to tell her mother about her experience going head to head with Serrano in the ring, and showed her mother the pictures … Jamiyah’s mom, a huge boxing fan, completely broke down in happy tears. This just shows the impact Serrano is having on people, from Puerto Rico to New York and across the world. In fact, she even blew away her own brother-in-law, Jordan Moldonado, who is now her trainer and manager.
Moldonado says, "When I got Amanda … I was doing it for the love of family. You know, she's my sister-in-law. I didn't think she would take me as far as she did. So … I mean, I gambled with her, and I’ll tell you one thing, man, that is by far the best fighter that I ever chose to work with."
While Serrano has fought and won at the Hulu Theatre inside Madison Square Garden, when she steps into the ring against Katie Taylor on April 30th for the main event, in the Mecca of Boxing, Serrano expects the home crowd advantage. Setting up for what’s expected to be an epic fight.