Amanda Serrano, alongside Katie Taylor, ranks among ESPN’s top women’s pound-for-pound fighters and is set to headline an all-female boxing event at New York’s Madison Square Garden this Friday. This highly anticipated trilogy fight will be streamed live on Netflix, marking another major opportunity to bring women’s boxing into the mainstream and push for equal pay and exposure alongside their male counterparts.
The goal of this all-women’s card is to demonstrate that female boxing can be just as thrilling, if not more so, than men’s boxing. The event aims to help several women reach new levels of fame and broaden their fan base beyond traditional boxing audiences, much like Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese did for the WNBA.
All-women boxing events have historical roots going back to 1979 in Los Angeles, with the sport gaining momentum in 2021 when Claressa Shields won a junior middleweight world title. However, true mainstream attention and financial support have remained limited until now. While women’s boxing legends like Christy Martin and Laila Ali made significant impacts in their eras, the sport lacked high-profile rivalries to boost its growth—something Taylor and Serrano now provide.
Christy Martin, inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020 and known for fighting on Mike Tyson’s undercards, emphasizes the importance of rivalries in sports. A planned fight in 2005 between Martin and Lucia Ricker, then regarded as the top pound-for-pound female boxer, was canceled due to injury, which could have significantly elevated women’s boxing.
Taylor versus Serrano represents one of the few true rivalries in women’s championship boxing, with their first bout in April 2022 making history as the first time two women headlined a boxing event at Madison Square Garden. Both fighters reportedly earned seven-figure sums, and the event sold out the iconic venue.
Amanda Serrano reflects on their rivalry, noting that while they are fierce competitors in the ring, they maintain a mutual respect outside of it. Their rematch was the co-main event for Jake Paul’s heavyweight fight against Mike Tyson in November, attracting an average of 74 million live viewers worldwide on Netflix—a record for a women’s sporting event in the U.S., far surpassing their first fight’s 1.5 million viewers on DAZN.
Regardless of why viewers tuned in, the fights lived up to the hype, earning praise from Jake Paul, who credited both Serrano and Taylor for their star power and ability to draw attention to women’s boxing.
Building on Taylor and Serrano’s groundwork, women’s boxing now has a platform to shine independently. Taylor expressed that this event isn’t a marketing stunt but a genuine showcase of how exciting women’s boxing can be, even calling the all-women’s card at Madison Square Garden a “monumental” moment for women’s sports.
The fight card features four of ESPN’s top ten female pound-for-pound fighters competing for 17 world titles in five matches, promising an electrifying night full of new possibilities and rising stars.
Legendary boxing commentator Jim Lampley sees this event as a pivotal moment that can move women’s boxing closer to parity with men’s sports, though he acknowledges ongoing skepticism about women boxing. Martin shares a cautious view, noting that the talent pool in women’s boxing is still relatively shallow and that the success of events like this depends heavily on standout performances.
While women’s boxing has traditionally had a stronger following overseas, promoter Eddie Hearn pointed out that all-women cards have a different fan demographic, often attracting more women and young girls but sometimes missing traditional boxing fans. The Taylor-Serrano cards, which mixed men’s and women’s fights, have sold out more quickly.
With tickets nearly sold out and revenue on track to double compared to their first MSG fight, the momentum is undeniable. However, with Taylor and Serrano nearing retirement, the future stars of women’s boxing will need to emerge from this new wave of talented fighters.
Dmitry Sarita, Claressa Shields’s promoter, highlights the importance of nurturing the next generation of stars and applauds Jake Paul’s role in elevating fighters like Serrano. Despite some media controversies involving Paul and Shields, there is hope they can collaborate to further elevate women’s boxing.
Promoter Sarita stresses that the goal is to provide the best opportunities and competitive fights for female boxers. Jake Paul anticipates hosting all-women’s boxing events once or twice a year but emphasizes consistent visibility and activity for female fighters as the key to building a fanbase.
The upcoming fight at Madison Square Garden symbolizes a new era for women’s boxing, spotlighting the search for the next big stars to follow Taylor and Serrano’s trail.
Jake Paul sums it up by saying this moment is about giving female fighters a platform to shine, become superstars, and compete for substantial earnings, signaling a bright future for women’s boxing.
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Fan Take: This event is a groundbreaking milestone that highlights the growing prominence of women’s boxing, offering fans thrilling matchups and pushing the sport towards greater equality and recognition. For fighting enthusiasts, it signals the rise of new legends and the expansion of boxing’s appeal beyond traditional audiences, promising a future where women’s bouts are just as celebrated as men’s.
