All all through the build-up to Saturday’s Madison Sq. Backyard major occasion, individuals have been saying that Taylor-Serrano was the ladies’s boxing equal of Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Properly, Mayweather-Pacquiao WISHES it could’ve been Taylor-Serrano.
Neglect the historic significance of being the primary feminine boxing major occasion at Madison Sq. Backyard. Neglect the titles. Neglect what this combat meant to girls’s boxing on the whole. What we noticed Saturday evening was an instance of two elite-level fighters giving all of it, performing to one of the best of their skills and exhibiting the boxing world why finest vs. finest fights are so rattling essential.
Each Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano did what they do finest and each executed their respective recreation plans. Each have been sharp and carried out at 100%. Ultimately, Taylor received the nod on two of the judges’ scorecards. Personally, I scored the combat a 95-95 draw, however 96-94 both means was completely affordable. Hell, even the judges did a great job on Saturday.
I haven’t written lots about girls’s boxing prior to now, but it surely had nothing to do with some macho “girls shouldn’t combat” nonsense. As a matter of reality, a pair years again, I nearly received laughed out of the room in a dialog I used to be having with some boxing previous timers after I talked about that girls’s boxing, with fighters like Claressa Shields and Amanda Serrano on the scene, may begin drawing some good cash. However, for me, there simply weren’t that many elite degree feminine boxers to pique my curiosity and never sufficient high quality rivalries to make for fertile floor in relation to subject material as a author. And, truthfully, that’s most likely nonetheless the case. So far as girls’s boxing has come, there’s nonetheless only a very small handful of true elites and also you don’t must dig too deep earlier than you get girl boxers who stroll into world title fights wanting and combating like stage-frightened P.E. academics.
Saturday’s present will certainly assist change that dynamic and, with continued high quality showings from the elites (together with the accompanying improve in high quality paydays), assist encourage extra girls to take boxing severely as a full-time profession.
However what one thing like Taylor-Serrano reveals us is that, on the elite-level, the feminine fighters can placed on a present each bit as entertaining and compelling and competitively satisfying as the lads.
Carry on Taylor-Serrano 2.
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In dominating Oscar Valdez Saturday evening in Las Vegas, Shakur Stevenson put in his second straight efficiency as a completely actualized pound-for-pound-level fighter.
Earlier than completely disassembling Jamel Herring final October to win the WBO tremendous featherweight title, I at all times thought of Stevenson to be an immense expertise who was, truthfully, an absolute snooze to observe. And due to his cautious “do exactly sufficient to win” mindset, I pegged him as a fighter with a relative low ceiling when it got here to how large of a star he may turn into.
The Herring combat, nonetheless, modified my thoughts on that evaluation. Stevenson confirmed up in an enormous means, executing like a fighter hungry to make a mark. In doing so, we received a glimpse of what a completely actualized Shakur Stevenson appears like.
Towards defending WBC tremendous featherweight titlist Valdez, he confirmed that aspect of himself once more.
The 24-year-old appeared to be not less than two full ranges above an excellent Valdez and was by no means as soon as in hassle and even involved about what his opponent needed to provide. And whereas he didn’t get a stoppage, he didn’t actually must. The victory was obscenely one-sided for a title unification bout between the consensus no. 1 and no. 2 fighters within the division, however by no means boring. Shakur, who landed 53% of his photographs and dropped Valdez within the sixth spherical, made certain of that.
Briefly, Stevenson placed on a present whereas placing on a clinic– and that’s precisely what an elite-level boxing star does. So long as he retains remembering that and retains combating opponents the followers need to see him combat, his star will hold climbing.
P.S. Kudos to the boxing bossmen at DAZN/Matchroom/ESPN/High Rank for arranging issues in order that Taylor-Serrano did not go head-to-head in opposition to Shakur-Valdez and followers may watch each fights stay.
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