A FED UP Katie Taylor dismissed Amanda Serrano’s persistent complaints over alleged headbutting as “a lot of whining”.
The rivals will tee off on each other for a third time in the early hours of Saturday morning from New York’s iconic boxing venue Madison Square Garden.
Despite generally being two classy operators outside of the ring, there’ll be no shortage of fuel for them to call upon as Serrano feels judges have favoured Taylor while The Bray Bomber has grown weary of such accusations.
Speaking to RTE at their final pre-fight press conference, the newly 39-year-old insisted she wasn’t frustrated at team Serrano’s consistent narrative about her supposed headbutting habit.
Yet her initial words belied a desire that’s clearly there to shut Serrano and her coaches up for good with a decisive victory.
Taylor stated: “I’m not really annoyed about it but I’m allowed to speak my mind.
“There’s been a lot of complaining and a lot of whining from the other team about the decisions about the headbutts, about whatever, I think enough is enough.
“I have no problem speaking my mind when I need to; a lot of the time I choose to stay silent, but there’s a time to stay silent and a time to speak up and this is my time is to speak up.”
As regards the 10-round contest that’s set to unfold as the main event of an historic all-female card, Taylor reiterated her pride at leading the way on such a noteworthy night for women’s boxing.
She emphasized: “It’s been great, I’m very excited about Friday night, I can’t wait to step in there.
“I’m involved obviously in another historic night, I can’t believe, looking back on my journey as a professional boxer and an amateur boxer, the positions I’ve been in and to have these big nights.
“This is something I’ve dreamt of as a kid and I get a chance again to perform on the biggest stage possible in Madison Square Garden – unbelievable.”
Taylor leads the series 2-0 after judges unanimously found in her favour against the Puerto Rican at AT&T Stadium last November.
The Wicklow native also won via a split decision when the pair first fought at MSG in April 2022.
Two weeks ago she conveyed her belief that her last outing was one of her greatest ever performances.
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 was at odds with the 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.”
