FULL INTERVIEW: Katie Taylor’s Final Message Before Facing Amanda Serrano

Michael Babcock (0:02)

Welcome to TMZ Sports The Interviews with Michael Babcock, I'm Babcock. Katie Taylor is already one of the most decorated champions in boxing history, but she's not done yet. The Irish superstar is set to headline a monumental all-women's card at Madison Square Garden streaming live on Netflix, and she's running it back with her fiercest rival, Amanda Serrano. In this interview, Katie talks legacy, pressure, and why this trilogy fight is about way more than just belts. She opens up on the pioneers who paved the way, the massive spotlight now shining on women's boxing, and what it'll take to silence the controversy from their last fight, a razor thin decision that still has fans debating who really won. If history is any indication, Friday night is going to be special, and Katie Taylor is ready for war. Let's get into it.

All right, Katie, I guess, first things first, as you get ready to do this thing for a third time again, how exciting is all of this? I mean, Madison Square Garden, all women's guard. This is awesome. It feels like a big moment to me, but obviously, I'm not the expert here. Talk to me just about the excitement and just the, I guess, how monumental is this event?

Katie Taylor (1:18)

Yeah, it's amazing. I think the fights are just getting bigger and bigger, to be honest. And I think if you ask me 10 years ago, what I think I'd be headlining a huge show at Madison Square Garden again, I would have been pinching myself. So this is huge. And like I said, the fights are just getting bigger and bigger. This is a huge moment, not just for myself, but I think just for women's sports in general, to be headlining a monumental women's card. And yeah, I wake up so grateful for these opportunities.

I definitely don't take it for granted.

Michael Babcock (1:54)

That's awesome. I mean, how much, I guess personal satisfaction do you get, Katie, as obviously being one of the, you know, you and others obviously, but having been, I think, critical in the sport getting to this place. I mean, I think all you've got to do is just look at your fight, your second fight with Amanda, and how exciting that was. I mean, you got Mike Tyson and Jay Paul fighting, and it seemed like it was everybody was talking about you and Amanda. How much personal satisfaction do you take in having brought the sport to this point?

Katie Taylor (2:25)

Yeah, I mean, it's amazing to think that I had some impact on the sport, for sure, and myself and Amanda, really, over these last few years, of the fights that we've had, the both being fighter-year contenders, that both had the world talking. And it's amazing to be in this situation where people are talking about these fights. I remember looking at an article after the first fight, and somebody was calling it the fight of the decade. And I'm thinking, well, even seeing clips and headlines like that, it's just remarkable where women's boxing has come over the last few years. But I also look back at past fights as well, the likes of Leila Ali and Christian Martin and Wolf. Those, David Gourby, those kind of girls that were huge pioneers in the sport. And I'm so grateful for what they've done for the sport and getting us to this position as well. And so it's because of those girls as well that that's why we're in this position. And I'm super grateful for the women that went before me.

Michael Babcock (3:30)

Yeah, yeah, it's cool. They took it to a level and now you've elevated even further. Very cool. How do you top last fight? I mean, gosh, I don't know what you could ever do to top that. But how do you even begin to start to try and top that?

Katie Taylor (3:42)

Yeah, I think just with both of our styles, it's always going to be such an exciting fight. Yeah, she comes, I come to fight. And we both want to win. We both have good mindsets. And so I think just just with the mindsets alone, I just our matches inside, it's always going to be such an exciting fight for the fans. And yeah, I mean, this, like I said, I didn't think it was going to get any bigger for the last fight, but here we are again. Just top of the huge show again on Netflix, an all female card. This is going to be a huge moment again. And yeah, amazing. I'm so excited for her.

Michael Babcock (4:22)

Yeah, I think the fans are so excited to watch. Katie, do you listen, obviously Amanda's, you know, she has said, oh, the headbutts, and they've talked a lot about that after the fight, you know, in the time since the second fight. Do you pay attention to any of that? Do you change anything? Does that enter your kind of your consciousness in any way? Or is it just, hey, business as usual, and I'm going to go out there and I'm going to win this fight?