Eddie Hearn signed Amanda Serrano to a co-promotional deal with a view to making a fight between the seven-weight world champion and Katie Taylor, but is concerned that there may be some confusion surrounding the contract. Nick Potts
Grudge match
Hearn keen to ensure Serrano doesn't 'wriggle' out of women's superfight with Taylor
The promoter says Serrano has already signed a deal to fight Taylor, and is concerned by the confusion on the Puerto Rican’s end.
EDDIE HEARN HAS reiterated that Amanda Serrano is contractually obliged to fight Katie Taylor later this year and has stressed that he may need to clarify this with Serrano and her team to ensure they don’t divert their course away from the bona fide women’s superfight.
Hearn signed Serrano to a three-fight co-promotional deal last year, the third of which is scheduled to be a bout between the Puerto Rican seven-weight world-champion and Ireland’s Taylor. Prior to this, Serrano had migrated to MMA and washed her hands of boxing, citing the lack of opportunities and financial gain in the latter.
The42 has long understood that Hearn and Taylor’s manager, Brian Peters, are keen for Taylor-Serrano to headline a bill in New York in September in what would be a landmark event not only for both fighters’ careers but for the female punch-for-pay ranks overall.
Speaking to IFL, however, Hearn expressed his concern that Serrano is unclear as to the key stipulation in her contract, and admitted that a fight with Taylor was his predominant reason for signing her in the first place.
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“I mean, we have an agreement in place,” Hearn said. “Amanda Serrano and Lou DiBella (Serrano’s co-promoter) have signed a contract to fight Katie Taylor.
“But I’ve seen a few comments [from Serrano] lately saying, ‘Oh, you know, if the deal’s right, I’ll fight Katie Taylor…’
“You’ve signed the deal,” Hearn added pointedly.
So we’ve got to get that clarified because the reason I’m giving Serrano the fights is because she’s signed to fight Katie Taylor. So I want to make sure there’s no wriggle move.
“We’ve got to give her another fight — maybe on the Golovkin card [on 8 June]. And then, fighting Katie Taylor: that’s what we want.
Our plan for the year has always been [Rose] Volante, [Delfine] Persoon and Serrano. That’s a big year. Champion, champion, megafight.
Before any of that, however, Taylor must first overcome the formidable challenge of Belgium’s Delfine Persoon at Madison Square Garden, New York, in a fight for the undisputed lightweight world championship on 1 June.
It promises to be the toughest test of Taylor’s still relatively young professional career, but victory would see her become Ireland’s first undisputed champion in the modern era, and only the third-ever female fighter to become the unequivocal queen of her division.
Taylor-Persoon will take place on the Anthony Joshua bill at ‘The Mecca of Boxing’, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in Ireland and the UK.
“I’m just so… I’m really proud of Katie, and I’m really proud that we get to put this fight on at MSG, on a night like that,” said Hearn.
“Because you know there’s going to be 20, 21,000 people in MSG, right? There’s going to be… 14,000 Brits? Sling the Irish in as well, and the atmosphere is going to be unbelievable. Unbelievable.”
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Hearn keen to ensure Serrano doesn't 'wriggle' out of women's superfight with Taylor
EDDIE HEARN HAS reiterated that Amanda Serrano is contractually obliged to fight Katie Taylor later this year and has stressed that he may need to clarify this with Serrano and her team to ensure they don’t divert their course away from the bona fide women’s superfight.
Hearn signed Serrano to a three-fight co-promotional deal last year, the third of which is scheduled to be a bout between the Puerto Rican seven-weight world-champion and Ireland’s Taylor. Prior to this, Serrano had migrated to MMA and washed her hands of boxing, citing the lack of opportunities and financial gain in the latter.
The42 has long understood that Hearn and Taylor’s manager, Brian Peters, are keen for Taylor-Serrano to headline a bill in New York in September in what would be a landmark event not only for both fighters’ careers but for the female punch-for-pay ranks overall.
The pair have intermittently traded barbs in the media over the past eight or nine months, with Serrano vowing to knock her rival out and Taylor telling this publication last October that she believed Serrano to be “mentally fragile” and suggesting the hard-hitting adopted Brooklynite is “afraid to lose”.
Speaking to IFL, however, Hearn expressed his concern that Serrano is unclear as to the key stipulation in her contract, and admitted that a fight with Taylor was his predominant reason for signing her in the first place.
“I mean, we have an agreement in place,” Hearn said. “Amanda Serrano and Lou DiBella (Serrano’s co-promoter) have signed a contract to fight Katie Taylor.
“But I’ve seen a few comments [from Serrano] lately saying, ‘Oh, you know, if the deal’s right, I’ll fight Katie Taylor…’
“You’ve signed the deal,” Hearn added pointedly.
“We’ve got to give her another fight — maybe on the Golovkin card [on 8 June]. And then, fighting Katie Taylor: that’s what we want.
Before any of that, however, Taylor must first overcome the formidable challenge of Belgium’s Delfine Persoon at Madison Square Garden, New York, in a fight for the undisputed lightweight world championship on 1 June.
It promises to be the toughest test of Taylor’s still relatively young professional career, but victory would see her become Ireland’s first undisputed champion in the modern era, and only the third-ever female fighter to become the unequivocal queen of her division.
Taylor-Persoon will take place on the Anthony Joshua bill at ‘The Mecca of Boxing’, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in Ireland and the UK.
“I’m just so… I’m really proud of Katie, and I’m really proud that we get to put this fight on at MSG, on a night like that,” said Hearn.
“Because you know there’s going to be 20, 21,000 people in MSG, right? There’s going to be… 14,000 Brits? Sling the Irish in as well, and the atmosphere is going to be unbelievable. Unbelievable.”
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
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