Jake Paul believes Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano’s headline title fight at Madison Square Garden is “equality as it is meant to be”.
Undisputed lightweight champion Taylor will defend her titles against seven-weight champion Serrano on 30 April.
The fight is the first female bout to headline the iconic New York venue.
“They deserve this stage, they deserve this historic pay day and they deserve to settle who is the pound-for-pound best,” said Paul.
YouTube star Paul, who has won his five fights since venturing into the sport, is co-promoting the high-profile bout and feels the Taylor and Serrano are the “two best female boxers in the world right now”.
“Women have been boxing since the early 1900s but it wasn’t until 1999 that they were able to compete professionally. Twenty-three years later, here we are with one of the biggest fights ever, headlined by two women at Madison Square Garden.”
It will be the sixth time Irish fighter Taylor has put her belts on the line since beating Delfine Persoon to claim them in June 2019.
Taylor and Puerto Rico’s Serrano, 33, were originally due to face each other in May 2020, but the Manchester fight was called off because of the pandemic.
Undefeated Taylor, 35, claimed her titles when she beat Persoon at Madison Square Garden in 2019 before overcoming the Belgian in a rematch in England in August 2020.
Since then, the Bray fighter has seen off Gutierrez, Natasha Jonas, Jennifer Han and Sharipova to keep her unbeaten record in tact.
Serrano, who is working with Paul, will enter the fight in fine form having beaten Spain’s Miriam Gutierrez in Florida in December after also claiming wins over Daniela Romina Bermudez and Yamileth Mercado in 2021.
“We are grateful to Katie Taylor and her team for committing to take this fight and, most of all, we are proud to stand with Amanda Serrano – a superstar, a woman who has dedicated her whole life to boxing,” added Paul.
“Now it is time to start showing the commitment she has made and showing the world how important women’s boxing is. I’m excited to be here and let’s make history.”
Headlining MSG ‘incredible’
Taylor admits that the face-off with Serrano will be a “career-defining night”.
“This is a fight I have been looking forward to for quite some time now. It’s incredible how far the sport has come,” she added.
“It’s been called he biggest fight in female boxing history and it is a privilege to be part of a historic moment – this is history right here.
“I think this fight is the most exciting fight in the sport. Not just in female boxing, in boxing as a whole.
“Not just because of the records, but our styles will gel well together. It really is the best fight in boxing right now.”
Serrano said the timing of the fight “couldn’t have been better than right now” after the failed previous attempt to set-up the high-profile bout.
“We are changing the sport and I am super happy and super glad and honoured to be sharing the ring with Katie Taylor,” she added.
“She is a great champion and we are going to prove who is the pound-for-pound best because everyone has been asking for it.”
