Taylor's unshakeable faith inside and outside the ring drove her towards her crowning moment at Madison Square Garden.
A fight that will live long in the memory of fans was held in the mecca of boxing in New York. It was a brilliant, non-stop rollercoaster of a fight, and it was not important.
Tonight was fantastic and I had to dig deep. Taylor said he had to produce a career-defining performance.
Serrano proved she is a star for the past 13 years, despite the fact that she lost.
Taylor was given the lion's share of the credit for bringing the first female headliners to the arena, but Serrano was the perfect dance partner. The Puerto Rican support was rapturous. Serrano is a special talent, one half of an amazing event, and her selling power was probably underestimated going into this fight.
Considering how far Taylor has come, it was amazing.
If a Nostradamus-esque soul had predicted that two female fighters would headline at the Garden, they would have been ridiculed.
One must understand what Taylor had already accomplished to understand her unshakable belief.
Taylor began boxing at the age of 14. Her mother, who was ringside in New York, grew up in a country where women's rights were diminished. It was a hostile place for women to play.
No divorce, no autonomy, no contraception, and no women's sport. Mary Robinson took office four years after Taylor's birth, and she was the result of decades-long efforts to change the way a country viewed women.
The contraceptive train was used by leading feminists in Ireland to buy condoms. In the Republic, contraceptives were not allowed. It would stay that way until 1985.
Taylor was born a year later. Ireland was about to change. Taylor would have been the face of the perfect Irish woman. She was very religious and family oriented. A revolution that has now spread to the shores of America was inspired by her desire to fight and be seen doing so.
The Bray Bomber changed a country that would have demonised a female fighter into a country.
She pretended to be a boy so she could box. Taylor's vision was to change the pros and the amateurs at the same time.
Winning gold at the London 2012 Olympics was an impossible dream. Taylor said that the best night of her career was against Serrano.
One more goal left on the to-do list is a return to home.
Both women and the promoter want a second match with Serrano. Eddie Hearn has once again thrown down the gauntlet to his history-maker - a fight in Ireland.
Taylor said that he has no plans of retiring.
If there is a fighter who can bring pro boxing back to Ireland, it is Taylor. Since the fatal gangland shooting at a weigh-in at the Regency Hotel in 2016 there has been a shadow ban on professional boxing events in Ireland.
One man was killed in that incident and it was part of an ongoing feud between the Hutch gang and the Kinahan gang. The United States imposed sanctions on Daniel Kinahan.
The Irish government may think boxing has not shown it is prepared to clean up its act since the shooting. Peter was shot in the arm when a man opened fire on his boxing gym. Irish authorities have a difficult task in convincing them that professional boxing should resume.
Croke Park can hold more than 80,000 people.
If Taylor can pull off one final miracle and bring boxing back to Ireland, the question isn't whether Taylor v Serrano 2 could sell 80,000 tickets.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
