Archive March 6, 2025

Katie Taylor will fight Amanda Serrano in their trilogy bout on 11 July at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Irishwoman narrowly won both her previous encounters with Serrano, most recently a points decision in November in Texas.

“I’m 2-0 against Amanda but it’s obviously a very special rivalry that delivers every time we step in the ring so I think it’s only right that we have the trilogy”, Taylor said.

Taylor will defend her light-welterweight undisputed titles again and the all-female card will be shown live on streaming platform Netflix. It will be the second time Taylor and Serrano have headlined the iconic venue.

The event will be promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Serrano signed a “life-time deal” with the promotional company this week.

Puerto Rico’s Serrano, 39, is a world champion at featherweight and said she had wanted the trilogy bout to be over 12 three-minute rounds, rather than the 10 two-minute rounds used in women’s boxing.

“I’m disappointed that Katie Taylor did not keep her word and make the trilogy 12 three-minute rounds”, Serrano said.

“This is a record-setting payday for both of us, and we owed it to the fans to honour the handshake deal we made. She didn’t.

” But make no mistake, every time we share the ring, it is war, and I know Friday, July 11, will be the greatest yet because I will finally get the official]win] I deserve. “

The first two fights between Taylor and Serrano are both considered modern classics.

Taylor and Serrano sold out MSG in 2022 and set a record for a fight purse earned by a female boxer.

Serrano almost knocked Taylor down in the fifth round of a ferocious bout, before the defending lightweight champion came back in the second half of the fight.

The scorecards were 97-93 and 96-93 for Taylor, with one judge scoring it 96-94 to Serrano.

Taylor v Serrano 2 broke their own fight purse record and was fought in front of 60, 000 people at the AT&amp, T Stadium in Texas.

Another great encounter saw Taylor docked a point for a headbutt in the eighth but she was eventually awarded a 95-94 points win by all three judges.

Serrano criticised the scorecards and complained about Taylor’s tactics, but immediately called for a third fight.

BBC Sport’s Kal Sajad

The best of dance partners go again. It is undoubtedly the greatest ever rivalry in women’s boxing, and one of the best the sport has witnessed in recent times.

In November, the rematch added legitimacy to the circus of Paul v Tyson. This time, they are the main event – and rightly so.

The record books do not tell the full tale. Taylor was pushed all the way in both fights and it so easily could be 2-0 to Serrano.

Both fighters could have their pick of opponents, but the clamouring for a trilogy was just too loud to ignore.

Natasha Jonas v Lauren Price

Venue: Royal Albert Hall, London Date: Friday, 7 March

Trainer Joe Gallagher complained about “uncalibrated” scales before world champions Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price successfully weighed in for Friday’s welterweight unification fight.

Just as WBA belt-holder Price was about to step on to the stage, Jonas ‘ trainer Gallagher questioned why the scales were missing a sticker of authenticity.

He claimed all undercard fighters were “about a pound lighter” than they should be, and demanded the weigh-in be postponed until the scales were calibrated.

“They’re the rules. I’m only playing by the rules”, Gallagher said.

But an official from promoter Boxxer directed the weigh-in to continue, before Wales ‘ Price weighed in at 10st 5lb – two pounds under the welterweight limit.

Liverpool’s WBA and IBF champion Jonas then tipped the scales at 10st 6lb.

“Isn’t boxing full of dramas? I was light, with my clothes on”, Jonas, 40, said.

Price, 30, won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 and is unbeaten in eight pro fights.

“Gallagher is trying to make it about himself but it’s Jonas v Price”, she said.

Once again, Gallagher stole the show and deflected attention away from his fighter – perhaps to ease any pressure on two-weight champion Jonas.

“They’re not calibrated scales. I’ve got the certificate, the sticker is up there on the screen, they were calibrated on 9 January”, he told Sky Sports after the weigh-in.

“People saying I am kicking off again, but we’re talking about a world title event. Can you imagine, hypothetically,]Manny] Pacquaio or]Floyd] Mayweather fight and they’re not calibrated scales”?

On Wednesday, Gallagher had fired back at Team Price and questioned why his fighter was considered the underdog.

After the weigh-in, Jonas – who has won 16 professional fights, lost two and drawn one – paid tribute to Gallagher’s “tenacity, devotion and dedication”.

The 56-year-old revealed earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with stage four bowel and liver cancer.

“He might have his moments but right now he is still soldiering on”, Jonas said.

Price, who has cruised through the paid ranks and won a world title in just her seventh bout, refuted any suggestion from Team Jonas that she may have found it difficult to make the welterweight limit.

“I don’t crash the weight, it’s my natural weight”, she said.

“I’m in my prime, it’s my time and I’m ready. I’ll be taking those belts back to Wales”.

A victory over Jonas would lift Price’s career to new heights.

The Welshwoman is targeting the winner of WBO champion Mikaela Mayer v Sandy Ryan – who fight later this month – in an undisputed title bout by the end of 2025.

Earlier, a fired-up Caroline Dubois and South Korea’s Bo Mi Re Shin both weighed in at 9st 7lb for their lightweight world-title contest.

Londoner Dubois, 25, smiled and flexed her muscles before the two women gently leaned in with their heads for the face-off.

“We’re going to let our fists do the talking. These are my belts and this is the closest she is going to get to them”, Dubois – draped in the WBC and IBO belts – said.

England would be “stupid” not to consider Ben Stokes as a white-ball captain, says director of men’s cricket Rob Key.

England are looking for new leaders of the one-day and T20 sides after Jos Buttler resigned following their early exit at the Champions Trophy.

Stokes, 33, has been Test captain since 2022 but has not played white-ball cricket for England since the 2023 50-over World Cup.

“Nothing is off the table”, said Key. “You look at every single option and think, ‘ What is the best thing to do? ‘

” Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I’ve ever seen. It would be stupid not to look at him. It’s just the knock-on effect of what that means. “

All-rounder Stokes is currently recovering from a hamstring operation and has been training with a group of England Lions players in Abu Dhabi.

Key said Stokes is” flying “and” on track to start the summer in a full role, bowling and batting”.

On Thursday at Lord’s, Key said England will not rush the decision and have” plenty of options”, but he sees a greater alignment between Test and 50-over cricket, when compared to the T20 format.

It could be a possibility that Stokes combines the 50-over leadership with the Test side, working alongside a different T20 captain.

” I believe that Test cricket and 50-over cricket are probably closer than T20s, which is the outlier now, “said Key.

Key also mentioned current white-ball vice-captain Harry Brook and limited-overs specialists Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone, who have both led England in the past year.

If Stokes or Brook take a white-ball leadership role, their workload would come into consideration, particularly in a year when England face marquee Test series at home to India and away to Australia.

A home white-ball series against West Indies begins only four days after a one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May, while the summer ends with limited-overs matches against South Africa and Ireland.

England play a white-ball series in New Zealand prior to the Ashes, which is then followed by a T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year.

Stokes was man of the match when England won the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and played a major role when they were crowned T20 world champions in 2022.

He retired from 50-over cricket in the summer of 2022 and reversed the decision to play in the 2023 World Cup.

” We’ve got to get the most out of our best players, “said Key”. We want them playing for England.

“That’s important and that’s going to take some work because you’re also throwing franchise cricket into that.

Key said he expects pace bowler Brydon Carse to be fit for the start of the summer after a foot injury cut short his Champions Trophy and ruled him out of the Indian Premier League.

Mark Wood will see a specialist this week about a knee injury picked up at the Champions Trophy.

England’s performance in Pakistan was their third successive disappointing global white-ball event. They suffered narrowed defeats by Australia and Afghanistan, then were hammered by South Africa.

Key admitted England were” very poor “and said they could have chosen a different bowling attack after coming under fire for being too reliant on high pace.

But the former Kent and England player pointed towards the performance of the batting, which he said has” fallen off a cliff”.

He rejected allegations England do not train enough, though did concede some of their statements in the media” do not help “the public perception of the team.

” There’s no doubt that we’ve got to get better, “said Key”. When we’re doing interviews, when players are doing their post-match press conferences, whatever it is, we speak a lot of rubbish a lot of the time.

“They’re trying so hard not to upset players in the dressing room, not try and give away something that they don’t think they should.