Key Takeaways:

• Netflix’s first all-women’s boxing card features 21 world titles and five championships on the line.
• Alycia Baumgardner and Shadasia Green are reshaping the narrative of women’s boxing through visibility, legacy, and power.
• The Taylor vs. Serrano trilogy fight highlights the cultural and historical significance of women’s boxing on a global stage.

Tonight, the fiercest rivalry in women’s boxing returns to where it all began — Madison Square Garden. Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano III is the centerpiece of the first all-women’s professional boxing card, a history-making event that will stream live on Netflix. With five championship fights and 21 world titles on the line, this is the most decorated night in women’s boxing to date.

For Amanda Serrano, the bout is about more than revenge. “I’m chasing legacy,” the Puerto Rican icon said on “The Breakfast Club.” “I’m the first Puerto Rican to become undisputed, male or female... Now, it’s just doing other stuff, making money, and continuing [to] open doors for women in this sport.” Despite two controversial losses to Ireland’s Katie Taylor, Serrano is confident she’s done enough to win: “If Katie [were] to beat me clearly, I would say hats off to Katie... But I just don’t feel it, the fans don’t feel it, my team doesn’t feel it, doesn’t see it.”

The fight, which caps at 140 lbs, is a physical leap for Serrano, who walks around closer to 134. “Going up in weight is really hard for me, it’s a lot harder for me than losing weight,” she said, noting the challenge of moving up from her natural featherweight class. When asked how she’s updated her training for this fight, she responded, “I have a nutrition coach now... I have a running coach... I hired another assistant coach that’s helping me keep my distance, helping me with my head movement and boxing.”

She’s also carrying the weight of past controversies. “The second headbutt was so painful... it was a very open wound. And it hit the bone, and I was like... I saw black for a second,” she said of her last bout with Taylor. “I feel like those two fights [were] like four against one or five against one, because it's the judges, Katie, and the referee. So, I just want a fair fight.” Serrano was vocal about equality in the sport as well, pushing for 12 three-minute rounds. “I believe if I had that extra minute, I can definitely hurt her and finish her,” she argued.

Baumgardner and Green lead a new wave of Black women in championship boxing

Along with his format, this card is a notable turning point for visibility. Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner defends her undisputed super featherweight crown against Spain’s Jennifer Miranda, while Shadasia “The Sweet Terminator” Green, Most Valuable Promotions’ (or MVP’s) first homegrown world champion, aims to unify titles in the super-middleweight division. “We don’t always have a lot of positivity coming out of the city of Paterson,” Green said in a clip shared by Netflix promoting the match. “So, I carry [it] on my back.” A former McDonald’s All-American basketball nominee, she found boxing after a coach criticized her footwork — and never looked back.

Their inclusion speaks to an evolving landscape where Black women are stepping into roles as not only elite athletes, but main-event headliners and promotional centerpieces. Even the commentary team brings legacy to the mic with Laila Ali, a boxing icon in her own right, joining the broadcast to spotlight this new generation of women fighters. “These young girls are looking at us,” Baumgardner said. “They want to know [how to be us], or how [to] be better. And that’s what we want.”

Serrano’s lucrative success shows the power of MVP

Amanda Serrano’s rise hasn’t just been about gold belts. It’s been financial, too. “I got paid $4,000 for world title fights,” she revealed to “The Breakfast Club.” “That’s the difference with Jake Paul, and these women, now that they see that me and Katie are making millions and we’re making noise... and my fanbase, how much it grew... now they want to come along,” she explained. The Netflix deal, which includes global streaming access for all subscribers, is the culmination of a journey that saw Serrano go from overlooked champion to main-event draw.

For Serrano, an Afro-Latina who now holds a lifetime contract with MVP, the platform means more than money. She expressed, “Netflix believed in me and Katie so much that they gave us our own card, with all women. So, they believe in us women, and that’s something that really touches me."

She’s not the only one stepping into the spotlight. Fighters like Ramla Ali and Shurretta Metcalf are also seizing the moment. “Every time I go into the ring, I need to make it mean something,” Ali said. “I feel like I have a responsibility to fight for the people that don’t feel like they can fight for themselves.” Metcalf echoed the sentiment: “I’m fighting for the girls who look like me, who come from nothing like me,” she said. “It doesn’t matter your age, it doesn’t matter where you’re from. It just matters how you finish.”