ANY future possibility of Amanda Serrano getting a rematch with Katie Taylor could be over, according to the Puerto Rican.
The 34-year-old watched her rival lose to Chantelle Cameron 18-0 (8) over the weekend. As a result, Serrano believes that the Irishwoman will now be concentrating on avenging her first ever loss placing any hope of Taylor-Serrano 2 on the shelf.
“Katie is a warrior and she’s a true fighter and she’s gonna wanna get that back and I know that’s going to be on her mind 100%,” she said during an appearance on The MMA Hour.
“Losing hurts. It sucks bigtime and being [at] home it must have hurt a lot more. I’m just hoping she can mentally be ready for the rematch. I respect what Katie’s gonna do and that’s getting the rematch.”
In April 2022 Taylor 22-1 (6) and Serrano 44-2-1 (30) produced an all-time great fight when they fought at Madison Square Garden. At the end of 10 action packed rounds the Dubliner was awarded a split decision and retained her undisputed lightweight championship.
A rematch had looked likely when both women agreed to meet on May 20 in Ireland. The original venue of Croke Park was ruled out due to costs then Serrano suffered an injury. Taylor wanted the original date kept and a new opponent found. Cameron stepped in and successfully defended her own undisputed super-lightweight crown at the 3Arena in the Irish capital.
“I had injured my hand when I fought Miriam Gutierrez in Tampa (December 2021),” Serrano explained.
“She was a tough durable girl and took everything I gave her, and my hand felt it. Every fight after that I felt it and in training, I felt it.”
Serrano fought a further three times with the problematic hand before deciding she had to have the issue addressed.
“The hand is good now. I started training a couple of weeks ago. I’ve only been using bigger gloves. I gotta train smart,” she said.
The undisputed featherweight champion returns on August 5 to defend her belts against Heather Hardy 24-2 (4) in Dallas.
