Breaking Taylor-Serrano showdown confirmed for Madison Square Garden

Katie Taylor will put her undisputed world lightweight title on the line against Amanda Serrano in a blockbuster battle at Madison Square Garden on Saturday 30 April.

The long-mooted contest, which was confirmed on Thursday afternoon, will be the first time two female fighters will headline a card at the famous New York arena.

Taylor (20-0 6 KOs) will put all of her lightweight belts on the line for the sixth time since her win against Delfine Persoon in June 2019. Taylor saw off Persoon in a rematch in August 2020, and then overcame the challenges of Miriam Gutierrez, Natasha Jonas, Jennifer Han and Firuza Sharipova.

Taylor also beat Amanda Serrano’s sister Cindy in Boston back in October 2018.

Puerto Rican Serrano (42-1-1 30 KOs) is a seven-weight world champion. She knocked out Daniela Bermudez last March, dominated Yamileth Mercado in August and then defeated Gutierrez on two separate cards.

"This is a fight I've wanted for a long, long time and I'm just excited for it to finally take place because these are the kind of fights I'm in the sport for," said Taylor.

"People have been talking about this fight for years and there have been times I wondered if it was ever going to happen so I'm very grateful to Eddie Hearn, everyone at Matchroom, DAZN and Madison Square Garden for getting it over the line.

"When I turned professional my goal was to be involved in huge events like this so to headline at Madison Square Garden in a fight of this magnitude is really the pinnacle of the sport. It's such an iconic venue and has been home to so many of the historic moments in boxing and I truly believe this will be another one."

Serrano added: "It is a dream come true to have the opportunity to headline Madison Square Garden and do so