Smith and Vargas enter the seventh round of their 12-round match before the main event tonight. Meanwhile, here’s Tess Crane’s look at Amanda Serrano, whose incredible partnership with YouTuber, who became a boxer and promoter Jake Paul, gave one of the most ornate but still neglected boxing champions the promotional boost she needs to reap the first seven-figure bag of her career.
Although the pairing may seem strange – the hyper-focused Serrano doesn’t go out on dates, drink or have a cell phone, while Paul puts “social” and “media” on social media exclusively online – they have proved to be a powerful addition. Serrano gives Paul authority as an athlete and presents him in a new, benevolent light as a women’s champion in sports. Meanwhile, he helped elevate her profile beyond boxing circles and gave her an unprecedented lever in securing fights like this.
Paul praised Serrano’s presence on social media and gave her targeted ways to expand her brand: what and when to publish, how to engage with fans online, take professional photos. Her Instagram and Twitter followers swelled. “It’s definitely a big help,” Serrano said. “Now I have Jake Paul behind me and he promotes me, sheds light on this light and writes about me on social media and gives me that impetus.” It paid off. Along with history and fame, this will be the first seven-digit purse in Serrano’s career.
Liam Smith from Liverpool and Jesse Vargas from the United States are in the ring for the last preliminary match tonight. An almost sold-out audience of about 18,000 spectators is expected for the map tonight, and many are already in place.
Both Taylor and Serrano were shown entering the Jumbotron arena between rounds during the previous battle. Taylor’s sight caused a storm of applause from the stands, but there was even more noise for Serrano, who seems to be enjoying a slight advantage in supporting the audience.
The atmosphere in and around the building is popping all night. And here’s something you don’t usually see: at least three of the Irish pubs on Seventh Avenue were packed with battle fans watching the DAZN show during my walk to the garden tonight. Usually television restrictions on fights make it almost impossible for local bars to show boxing when it’s so close, but normal rules have been lifted for the night and this has only heightened the sense of occasion.
Liam Smith, right, strikes Jesse Vargas during their 12-round middleweight bout on Saturday night. Photo: Stephen McCarthy / Sportsfile / Getty Images
Updated at 02.47 BST
Preamble
Hello and welcome to New York for tonight’s blockbuster clash between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano for the undisputed lightweight championship. We are in the ring at Madison Square Garden for this highly anticipated meeting between the two best boxers in the world, regardless of weight: the first summit between Consensus № 1 and № 2 on the men’s or women’s list after the second fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008
Remarkably, tonight’s main event is the first time two women have been a leading attraction in the 140-year history of the legendary restaurant in Manhattan.
The penultimate fight between François Cruz-Desourne of Baltimore and Sweden’s Elin Sederoos has just ended in a unanimous victory for Cruz-Desourne to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion in women’s boxing history. This is followed by a 12-round junior middleweight bout between Jesse Vargas and Liam Smith, followed by Taylor and Serrano, who are due to enter the ring near the top of the class. Many more things to face now and then!
Updated at 02.13 BST
Brian will be here soon. Meanwhile, here’s a preview of Donald McRae for tonight’s main event.
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