The candidates for women's boxing fight of the year were presented at Madison Square Garden. (0:54)
The gravity of everything they had been trying to pull off hit her when she showed up to the weigh-in Friday afternoon.
She 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 It was like, are you kidding me? The crowd was loud. Loud. For a weigh-in, it was massive. Puerto Rican and Irish fans waving flags and chanting turned a mundane part of a boxing week into a sideshow.
They had billed Taylor-Serrano as the biggest fight in women's boxing history. They would have to deliver.
It was like a weigh-in for Anthony Joshua or a Canelo weigh-in, Taylor said.
Tonight was just very, very, very special, and I don't know what else to say.
By the time Taylor sat at a dais with her trainer and promoter, she had her answer.
On a night when women's boxing received a rare spotlight, Taylor-Serrano had done more than produce a memorable fight. It created boxing excellence, and it showed the possibility of a sport both growing in potential stars and needing a moment to catch on.
It would have attracted attention if things had gone well. It could transform and elevate the entire sport if it had gone perfectly.
You think of Madison Square Garden when you think of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
This is a history-making fight, and it definitely lived up to expectations.
The entire promotion, from the title card to the posters, had all been about history. The first women to headline the big room at The Garden. They were asked to do next to impossible.
They were told to live up to the reality that is promoting boxing. This could have been a letdown. The promotion and intensity of the moment can swallow these events.
The promoter had billed more than people might have expected. As Taylor and Serrano stood in the middle of the ring in the final minute, the decibels from the crowd rose with each punch thrown, everything they hoped for was reality.
Serrano had a bruised face, while Taylor had a bloodied nose. The crowd was loud. The ingredients were in place to make a big moment.
Taylor and Serrano were able to deliver a scrap. If you wanted a technical fight between two different styles of fighters, how to attack one another? You have that as well.
Some of the best fights don't end like that, and the only thing that didn't happen was a knockout. Why? The fight was even. Life is difficult for the other fighter because they are both equal in stature.
The moment is tonight when we stop talking about women and men in boxing. That was one of the best fights I have ever witnessed.
The energy was obvious from the beginning. cheers erupted whenever Taylor or Serrano's name was mentioned, as they left their dressing rooms. At 8:20 p.m., when video was shown of each fighter walking into The Garden, it was like they were heading into the arena bowl.
As the moment came closer, the crowd grew more frenzied, chanting "Ole, Ole, Ole" in front of an area where nearly every seat was filled.
Both fighters seemed to appreciate what they were going through during the ring walks.
Taylor appeared to pause at the top of the ring before walking into it, looking like a small smile had creased her serious fight-night demeanor. She said this evening was the better night because she won the gold medal at the Olympics.
Serrano raised her fist to the crowd before entering the ring, and then smashed her gloves together when introduced.
Serrano said that it was a crazy feeling to have two women main-eventing a sold-out Madison Square Garden. The crowd was amazing, and you had two great champion going out there.
I was the co-main event with Jake Paul at my last two events. I was told to enjoy every second of it, and I did. I just took it all in.
Serrano couldn't hear anything specific when the fight started. The noise was so loud that she could not hear from her corner, her trainer and her sister.
That is what they wanted. An environment like this. A night like this. A chance to grow the sport they care about the most. That was the lofty goal going in beyond the practicalities of winning and losing, of legacies and what Taylor called career-changing moments. Much could go wrong. But Taylor and Serrano did a great job.
They put women's boxing on top of the marquee. They pulled it off.
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