Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano in her first two-headed women’s boxing match at Madison Square Garden

“I knew I was going to get into the trenches at some point,” Taylor was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“She’s a great fighter, a great personality, she’s great, I have the heart and the skill, and I knew I’d be able to make it happen.”

Cyrano’s record now stands at 42-2-1 and 30 knockouts. She has held world titles in seven weight classes ranging from 115 to 140 lbs. Last year, Serrano, 33, successfully defended her featherweight title in the WBO and WBC.

“We are great champions at the height of our giving and this fight is going to be amazing,” Taylor said. “I think stylistically, we can do really well together. She’s obviously a very aggressive fighter and so am I. So, I think it’s going to be a very exciting fight.”

The match marked the first time that two women had grabbed the headlines at “the most famous circuit in the world”. It was also the first boxing fight between first and second place since 2008, when Mane Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Márquez.

As a longtime leader in the sport, Taylor said her own success isn’t enough, saying she also wants to promote other female boxers.

“I feel like we’ve covered a lot of things over the past few years in terms of paycheck and wallets, but I still feel we still have a long way to go, too,” she told CNN.

“It’s not okay that only Amanda and I are getting paid big, but that has to carry over to other female fighters as well and I hope that happens.”

Saturday’s match was originally scheduled to take place on May 2, 2020, but was postponed due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.