WHILE adamant she beat Katie Taylor in their last bout, Amanda Serrano clearly has a lot of respect for her long-time rival.
The two boxing greats have shared two all-time classic bouts, with Taylor holding a 2-0 record from the series.
They will do battle for a third time at Madison Square Garden as the headliner of an all-female card on July 11, live on Netflix.
The hype has been building as both Serrano and Taylor have been busy doing media in recent days.
One such instance saw the Puerto Rican appear on an episode of The Whistle, during which she was asked to give her opinion on a variety of different boxers.
One of which was Katie Taylor herself, with Serrano initially responding: “Oh! Rarrr!” before laughing.
She then demonstrated the respect she has for the undisputed super lightweight champion.
Serrano added: “I tell people that she’s my bestie because together we make millions of dollars.
“We make magic together. We make great fights together.”
While they shared mutual respect towards one another, both Taylor and Serrano remain in intense disagreement over the outcome of their last fight.
Taylor edged Serrano in a thrilling clash in Texas last November, despite having a point deducted in the eighth round.
Serrano has remained adamant that she should have been given the W, but the Irishwoman is similarly bullish that the decision was correct.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist — who fought her first fight as an amateur in 2001 — said: “It was definitely one of my best performances.
“I love the way I was able to push her back and outfight her. I think I outboxed her in the first fight. I actually outfought her in the second.”
That view is at odds with Netflix commentary team of Mauro Ranallo, ring legend Roy Jones Jr and actress Rosie Perez. Ranallo and Perez claimed the judges had got it wrong. Jones Jr sided with the winner.
Throughout the broadcast — viewed by 75 million fight fans worldwide — Ranallo and Perez had controversially suggested it was a one-sided contest in favour of Serrano.
Taylor, however, has long since shrugged off the pundits’ objections.
She added: “I recently looked back at that fight and if you turn the commentary off, it’s actually a very, very clear win for me.
“There was no controversy whatsoever. The commentary made it controversial but I was very happy with that performance.
“But there’s still more I can do as well, which is very positive for me. It was a great performance but I feel like I still haven’t shown my best. That’s very, very exciting for me.”
