Mike Tyson tells of his admiration for Katie Taylor as he sends message to Irish boxing great
Mike Tyson and Katie Taylor fight on the same card in Texas this month
Mike Tyson is backing Katie Taylor to beat Amanda Serrano in their highly anticipated rematch later this month.
The Irish boxing great defeated the Puerto Rican via split-decision in an all-time classic when the pair made history by becoming the first women to headline a boxing event at Madison Square Garden in 2022.
And Taylor will earn the largest paycheque of her career, understood to be €5.6million, when she faces Serrano again on November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.
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The biggest rematch in women's boxing history takes place on the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul card, with the 2012 Olympic gold medallist putting the super-lightweight world titles she won by beating Chantelle Cameron last November on the line.
"I was never aware of Katie until I saw her fight Serrano. She's a very good fighter, a very slick boxer, she has good movement," heavyweight great Tyson told the Irish Mirror.
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"I can see her side movement, that's how she has to fight because Serrano comes straight forward, she doesn't cut off but when she comes straight forward, Katie has to go to the side, which she was doing earlier (in the first fight) and she has to be in the condition to handle the pressure of her continuing to come forward, but she has good side movement and she's a good puncher.
"She's a very entertaining boxer. She does the right thing, but she's got to continue to do it consistently."
Tyson, who turned 58 in June, returns to the ring for a first professional bout since losing to Monaghan boxer Kevin McBride almost 20 years ago to face YouTuber turned boxer Paul, who is more than 30 years younger than the heavyweight legend.
Taylor says being on the same card as 'Iron Mike' is a 'pinch me' moment, but she won't be the first Irish woman to fight at an event headlined by the Brooklyn native.
That accolade belongs to Taylor's childhood hero and Ireland's first female world champion, Deirdre Gogarty, who recently had a statue unveiled in her hometown of Drogheda to celebrate her boxing achievements.
Gogarty famously fought Christy Martin, who a Hollywood movie is currently being made about, with Sydney Sweeney playing the role of the American boxing trailblazer, on the undercard of Tyson's 1996 rematch win over Frank Bruno at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The pair were booed by the crowd as they made their way to the ring, but those in attendance were on their feet cheering after an epic six-round contest, which Martin won via unanimous decision after Gogarty got up off the canvas twice in the first round.
Reflecting on the fight over 28 years later, Tyson said: "I remember they were on the card, but this is different. Katie is a whole other level, she's a whole different animal.
"I'm always for women fighters, I'm 100% for women fighters. Some of them are more exciting than the men."
The build-up to Taylor v Serrano 2 has been much different to the first bout between the pair, with Tyson and Paul the two fighters heavily in the spotlight, but the Bray Bomber admitted earlier this week she is more than happy for that to be the case.
"I enjoy big events. That makes me perform. I have to be the centre of attention," stated Tyson, who Taylor expressed concern for on a media call during the week while saying that she hopes he gets the win.
She said: "I don't want to see him getting hurt. I have so much respect for Mike Tyson as a fighter and what he has done for the sport."
"He seems to be very confident," added Taylor. "He seems to be putting the work in and training hard so I hope he comes out on top."
The event will be shown worldwide on Netflix, meaning it has the potential to be the most viewed boxing event of all-time due to the streaming service's 280million+ subscribers.
Despite being almost a year since her last fight, Taylor is confident that the break has worked in her favour after the event was pushed back from July due to Tyson suffering an ulcer flare-up during a flight after which he was advised to rest and reduce training.
The 38-year-old has described the fight as the biggest of her career and believes both herself and Serrano have made improvements since the first bout two and a half years ago.
And although she is predicting the bout to be similar to the first, Taylor believes she is still learning and improving as a boxer and is now "smarter" in the ring than she was when the pair last battled it out in an all out war.
- Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano face off in the most anticipated women’s boxing rematch in history. Taylor vs. Serrano 2 will be the co-main event of Paul vs. Tyson. Friday, November 15th at 8pm ET | 5pm PT. Live on Netflix. Watch The Trailer Here. For more info, check out https://katietaylor.ie/
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