Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano: Charting the remarkable story of the rise of women's boxing

The British Boxing Board of Control said women were too emotionally unstable when Jane Couch wanted to fight in her home country.

On the eve of the bout in New York betweenKatie Taylor andAmanda Serrano, billed by its promoter as the biggest fight ever in women's boxing, Couch outlines how far the sport has come.

"It was damn right insane what they did to me," says Couch, who was nicknamed theFleetwood Assassin.

I took them to court for restriction of trade because I was already world champion.

It was natural to me, but I was told that women boxing would never happen and I knew it would.

Female boxers competed in a demonstration sport at the 1904 Olympic Games, but it was not allowed in most countries for the next century.

Barbara Buttrick was a world champion in the 1940s and 1950s, but boxed most of her career in the US. Ireland was against women boxing and the first official female bout in the country was a fight between Taylor and Alanna Audley.

The UK and Ireland objected to female boxing in the US.

The negative reaction among the public was something that Couch remembers.

She says that thePromoters would argue with her on the radio, saying it was disgusting to see women box.

The Board's lawyers argued that women's menstrual cycles made them vulnerable to box. The Board was trying to protect boxing as the last male bastion of sport against the participation of women, according to Dinah Rose.

Rose said that it was the most distasteful stereotype of women.

Women's boxing could not shake the stigma.

In 2009, the Times ran a 'for and against women boxing at the Olympics' featuring Couch and promoter Frank Warren. While Couch argued for its inclusion, Warren said at the time he would "never promote" women's boxing, saying it had a "freak-show mentality".

He would signNicola Adams to her first pro contract in 2017: "Never in a million years would I have thought I would promote women's boxing at one point, but she's changed my mind." She convinced me and I have seen the light.

Adams won the first women's Olympic boxing gold at London 2012 after 14 years of court battles. Taylor won a few hours later. It was a historic moment, but no one would have predicted how far the pro game has come.

In the UK, Taylor became a pro in 2016 and set about making a name for himself. She was Eddie Hearn's shining light in operation transformation.

The historic bout against seven-weight world champion Serrano at Madison Square Garden is the culmination of those efforts.

The biggest star in Europe has beenKatie.

The first female boxing world champion from Scotland is a fan of Taylor.

She says that before that it was Jane Couch. The person we look up to right now isKatie.

Chantelle Cameron thinks that Serrano andKatie are legends, putting it all on the line. You can't get a bigger fight than this.

What they've done for women's boxing is incredible.

The tide against women competing in the paid ranks began to turn in the past four years, and this has led to a huge rise in the sport's popularity.

When I first started, it was "Oh what do you want to box for?" What is a pretty girl like you boxing for? You are too educated to be a boxer. You don't need to box, you have degrees.

It is unrecognisable. Gyms didn't have girls toilets before that. There are more female coaches. It was not a thing to be a female fighter when I started. You were the token chick fighter.

Fighters such as Taylor have made a difference, but so has the realization that there is money to be made in women's boxing. When asked what has been the biggest factor in the growth of women's boxing, Couch replied: "Money."

The Covid pandemic was a big part of it.

Matchroom and Sky Sports used female fighters as a key part of their strategy. The world title fights were held behind closed doors.

Every single female fight that was on was either for a world title or title and they were all top-level fighters who turned up and put on an amazing show.

The general public is talking about female fighters as household names. I am very proud to be at the front of that change.

Fans like the fast-paced nature of two-minute rounds and they get to see us on TV. That makes a difference.

Taylor was the chief support to Anthony Joshua in his ill-fated American debut in 2019. Taylor narrowly escaped defeat in her fight with Delfine Persoon, while Joshua narrowly lost to Andy Ruiz.

Three years later, Taylor is back. The ground is large enough to reach this point.

Taking on the skeptics almost cost her sanity, but she never lost sight of what could be.

She says she could just go to the Board with two fingers up, but they wouldn't let her.

This is the biggest fight ever because no woman has ever fought at Madison Square Garden.

It is a massive turning point.

The rise of women's boxing coincides with the rise of women's sport as a whole, with over 11 million people watching England's football World Cup semi-final defeat by the USA on the BBC.

The legacy of this fight will go far beyond the hard numbers, but it remains to be seen how many people will tune in this weekend.

It is important to say that it is one of the biggest female fights ever, but there is also one looming on the horizon between the two.

It is the biggest fight ever. This fight will make Marshall v Shields even bigger and every fight after that even bigger.