Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano: Heart vs head dilemma as Jason Quigley previews fight and praises Jake Paul's "massive impact"
Katie Taylor defends the super-lightweight belts she won off Chantelle Cameron against Amanda Serrano on the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul card
Jason Quigley believes that we will see the best versions of both Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano when the pair step into the ring for the biggest rematch in women's boxing history.
Taylor defends the super-lightweight belts she won by beating Chantelle Cameron almost a year ago against the Puerto Rican on the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul card at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this Friday.
There are so many factors that make the rematch so fascinating such as it taking place at a higher weight than the first fight, Taylor coming into it after her longest ever break between bouts and the fact that neither of the pair are getting any younger, with the Bray native over two years older than Serrano at 38.
READ MORE: Mike Tyson gave seven-words of advice to Katie Taylor after backstage admission
READ MORE:Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano betting odds for rematch on Mike Tyson v Jake Paul card
Donegal boxer Quigley knows all about being involved in big American fight nights, with all of his 23 professional bouts bar two taking place in the United States, including at venues such as Madison Square Garden and both the T-Mobile Arena and MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The former world champion challenger, who fought on many Irish teams as an amateur with Taylor, admits his heart is saying one thing and his head another ahead of the 2012 Olympic gold medallist's 25th pro bout.
"This is an incredible stage for Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. It's going to be an incredible fight. I'm really excited and looking forward to it," Ladbrokes boxing analyst Quigley told the Irish Mirror.
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"Of course I'm an Irishman and I've been with Katie for many training sessions on the national team as an amateur, I back her to the very hilt and I really wish her well.
"I hope that she can go in there and pull off the victory but I do believe that this is going to be her biggest and toughest test to date.
"My head is telling me Amanda Serrano will nick this fight, my heart is telling me Katie will win it out of sheer heart and determination like she showed in the first fight so I'm going to go with my heart and say Katie Taylor wins."
The bout will be fought at a catchweight of 138 pounds for Taylor's super-lightweight belts, with the majority of Serrano's fights having come at featherweight, while she weighed in at 133½ for her first bout with Taylor.
However, despite fighting at one of the highest weights of her career, Quigley believes it is something that could be in Serrano's favour rather than a hindrance.
"Serrano moved up a lot in weight to fight Katie, she hurt Katie and she rocked Katie in that fight," added the Ballybofey man.
"A lot of people have this old school mindset and this old kind of boxing myth that the lighter you are, the stronger you are. I think it's the opposite.
"We saw Serrano move up in weight and I think she carried more power at the weight above.
"Look at her last five fights, they've all gone the distance but her last fight she did fight at 136 ½ and she won by knockout.
"A lot of people will think this is in Katie's favour, but I believe Serrano carries more power at this weight than she does at featherweight."
Taylor has not been seen in action since November 25 last year, while Serrano did fight in July, beating Stevie Morgan by a second-round knockout, after this event was pushed back a few months due to Mike Tyson suffering an ulcer flare-up on a flight.
The layoff is the longest Taylor has ever had in her pro career and Quigley echoes comments she made recently that the extra break will have done her good.
"I believe that the layoff will definitely be in Katie's favour because I believe her body needed that rest, needed that recovery and I think that she'll be coming into this fight nice and fresh," explained the 33-year-old.
"We all know that when Katie goes on a break, it's not as if she's lying around putting on a couple of stone in weight and living a lazy life. Katie is always in shape all year around, she has a great mentality, a great mindset so Katie is definitely going to come into this fight at 100% after the break.
"When we turn that over and look at Serrano, she has had five fights since her defeat to Katie and I believe that is going to benefit Serrano.
"They're two different fighters, two different people so the layoff is definitely going to benefit Katie in her own individual way of preparing for a fight and I believe that the activity for Serrano is also going to benefit her which means for the fans and the paying public that I believe we are going to get the best of both fighters come fight night."
Plenty has been said negatively about Jake Paul's involvement in boxing and the fact that he is fighting someone 31 years older than him, but next week's show is expected to be the most viewed boxing event of all-time due to Netflix streaming it to its 282million+ subscribers.
And Quigley sees the YouTuber-turned-boxer's role as a "massive positive" for the sport, with Taylor reportedly set to pocket €5.8million from the fight.
"You get a lot of negative feedback on the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight and all this carry on but when you strip it all back and look at it... a few boxers might be slating me for this but I think this is a massive positive for the sport," said Quigley.
"You're getting the likes of Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor one of the biggest audiences, one of the biggest paydays that they've ever had in their careers because of Jake Paul and I know he is fighting Mike Tyson and Mike Tyson is a part of this, but it's Jake Paul that has put all the wheels in motion that has made this possible."
Paul comes into his bout with 58-year-old Tyson as the favourite with the bookies and Quigley sees the 27-year-old winning "very comfortably".
"Mike Tyson is a legend of the sport, he's got an unbelievable name in the sport and I just hope he doesn't get hurt in this fight because mother nature at the end of the day is the boss, you can't beat mother nature," stated Quigley.
"I'm going to come out and say it, I see Jake Paul winning this fight very comfortably because of mother nature. People look at Jake Paul and say 'he's an influencer, he's a YouTuber, he was on the Disney Channel', but Jake Paul has the facilities, the funds and the backing to become an elite professional athlete.
"So I see him winning pretty comfortably to be honest and I never imagined myself saying that.
"The last thing to go from any man is their power. I do believe Mike Tyson has a chance to land that big punch and maybe hurt and rock Jake Paul and the first 30 seconds of the first four or five rounds is going to be the most dangerous for him but after that I can see him taking over and controlling the fight."
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