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“You’ve signed the deal” – Hearn warns Serrano there is no backing out of Taylor fight


Amanda Serrano is contractually obliged to fight Katie Taylor and has to face the Irish star this year confirms Eddie Hearn.

The controversial seven-weight world champion raised eyebrows as well as concerns last week when she declared that the clash is unlikely.

Serrano responded “I doubt it will,” when asked if she thought that a Taylor fight would take place in 2020.

“I have a bunch of things going on,” said Serrano who is currently flirting with the idea of entering the bareknuckle scene.

“They [Team Taylor] are only interested in what they want how they want it. Girls are getting frustrated and moving on.”

After these comments were reported on, Serrano would quickly move to clarify but fers and uncertainty remain.

The impression given previously was that Serrano, whose older sister Cindy was humiliated by Taylor last year, had agreed to the clash when she signed with DAZN.

Indeed, it was reported that the sole reason the Puerto Rican was offered a three-fight co-promotional deal with Matchroon and long time boss Lou DiBella was to ensure the mega fight happened this Autumn – a fight which manager Brian Peters intends to headline The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

With talk swirling, Matchroom boss Hearn has moved to allay fears that the fight won’t take place.

The English promoter clarified that a Taylor fight is a part of the New Yorker’s contract.

“I mean, we have an agreement in place,” Hearn told IFL TV. “Amanda Serrano and Lou DiBella have signed a contract to fight Katie Taylor.”

“But I’ve seen a few comments [from Serrano] lately saying, ‘Oh, you know, if the deal’s right, I’ll fight Katie Taylor’.”

“You’ve signed the deal,” Hearn added pointedly.

“So we’ve got to get that clarified because the reason I’m giving Serrano the fights is because she’s signed to fight Katie Taylor. So I want to make sure there’s no wriggle move.”

“We’ve got to give her another fight — maybe on the Golovkin card. And then, fighting Katie Taylor: that’s what we want.

“Our plan for the year has always been [Rose] Volante, [Delfine] Persoon and Serrano. That’s a big year. Champion, champion, megafight.”

For the Serrano fight to take place the Brian Peters managed lightweight first has to overcome Delfine Persoon in the big room at Madison Square Garden on June 1st.

The pair do battle for the undisputed lightweight world championship on the DAZN blockbuster and Sky Box Office show.

The bout will go ahead despite the fact one half of the proposed headline act ‘Big Baby’ Miller failed a drug test and has been refused a licence by the NYSAC – and three-strap champ Taylor is adamant victory is not a foregone conclusion.

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Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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