5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce - Taylor v Serrano III: Jake Paul, Taylor's trainer and Serrano's Sister

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

Can Amanda Serrano turn the tide and beat Katie Taylor in their trilogy fight on Friday? Buncey heads to the press conference at Madison Square Garden to put that question to promoter Jake Paul. He also hears from Taylor’s trainer Ross Enamait, Serrano’s sister Cindy, and legendary U.S. boxing journalist Mark Kriegel on what this fight means. Plus, we get an insight into Amanda Serrano from a Puerto Rican sports reporter.

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. This is Five Live Boxing. So the big fight week in New York continues. And it is a big fight week in New York because there's fights on Friday and then there's fights on Saturday. This pod is special. It's a who's who. It's a long list. And you know what?

It's full of characters, real characters. I speak to Jake Paul, the co-founder of MVP and one of the most divisive. divisive boxers I've ever known. I personally like him. Hey, that's just me. I speak to Puerto Rico's top sports broadcaster. What a top banana he is. Also, the sister of Amanda Serrano and the trainer of Katie Taylor

and the Queen of Capford. It's a cast list for the ages and it's a fight for the ages. Plus, it was a terrific press conference. Organised, smart, witty. A little bit of venom, but it was a great press conference. It was in the basement of the Madison Square Garden. I call it the Felt Forum. Other people call it the theatre. I don't care. I'm going with the Felt Forum. It was a big event,

a real event for a massive fight. Friday night, Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, forget the belts, really, and I mean that nicely. It's the trilogy fight. It's history. It's Madison Square Garden. It's the Garden. I'm Steve Bunce, and this is a very special five-live boxing. So I'm joined here in one of the rooms at Madison Square Garden. I've been in Madison Square Garden a lot of times over the last X amount of years, and I keep finding corridors and keep finding rooms that I've never been in. Not as many as I have. I've got two blocks away, Steve.

Exactly. So I'm joined by Mark Kriegel, who's got a fabulous new book out about Mike Tyson, which we'll talk about in a summer. We'll talk about that book later on. First of all, Mark, I thought, and I'll get it in first. I thought that conference, obviously it was long, it was glitzy. I thought it was slick, and I thought it was quite fast. I mean, like you, I'm a veteran of some of those four-hour Don King gigs.

I'm just about to sit. We're two hours of thanking different officials from different casinos. All of them from the WBC. And the WBC. I quite like that conference today. Considering there were like 17. Voices. Five years out on the dais, I do admire its economy.

Listen, I admire what they've done here. I didn't think that female boxing could ever have this type of state. and could sustain it. It has. Some of it is because, and I don't know if this is true in the UK as it is in the States, but at least

in the States, the women are willing to make the unification fights that the men, for whatever damn reason, just don't seem to wind up doing, you know? We've seen that because most of the reasons for that are the fact that there are fewer women, you know, in the way. There are a few women, but they're also,

they're willing to risk their owes. I mean, look at a fight at Levincahalla Mayer. Yeah, yeah. You know, I mean, people can criticize her or not, but she's willing to get to the risk. I didn't know. I didn't know she'd be that good when she jumped up and wait, but she's taking one big fight after another, and it doesn't matter if she loses or not. She's gotten bigger.

She's become more of an attraction, and that's one of the things, frankly, I don't think the guys understand. If you look at Amanda Serrano, she's 0.2 in this. But she's coming into this fight bigger than she's ever been. And sometimes it's the fight itself that carries you. Forget about the loss. I wish the guys would learn this. Michaela Mayer got bigger in defeat than she was ever before. And part of it is because the sport is healthier where you guys are in the UK than it is here.

I mean, you're absolutely right. The women are far less risk adverse. Let's put it that way. They don't have a choice. They don't have a choice. But they've accepted that responsibility. Sometimes, Mark, the men don't have a choice. But they find a choice, but I wouldn't classify it as a choice.

They find an option that I don't, I don't, that I wouldn't necessarily believe as a real option. Let me put this completely hypothetical. I don't mean any unintended joke in this. But if Canello and Benavides were on the women's side of the aisle, they would have fought already. Oh, sure. Yes? They'd be able to trilogy. There you go.

They'd be having a trilogy. And it's the trilogy itself. I mean, look, it's the trilogy itself that draws fans that creates interest. And I do think, you know, it's weird because the two, I will call them, great trilogies that we've seen in this decade, both going into the third fight, 2 and 0, which is, usually if you're having a trilogy, it means that it's one in one and you settle it. But to me, you know, Wilder Fury, which had its own charms,

each fight was unpredictable in its own way. And Serrano and Katie Taylor, which, has been fought at a uniformly high level. There are anomalies that were going into the third fight, two and oh. And the rest of the card, it does have all sorts of stuff on it. I mean, there are some really good fights. I know I like the 17 belts, the Guinness Records, 70s, belts, that doesn't include the magazine belts.

But there is just something about it. And I see, I like the kind of sermon. I like that evangelical style of the stuff. It was like Don King without having to mention sponsors. Yes, but it didn't go on forever. It was not, of course. I mean, but some of the, I mean, this is a deep, what we would classify as a deep bill. This is a deep bill.

If you follow women's boxing, this is an intriguing bill. Even if you don't follow women's boxing. And that's what I'm getting at. A bill like this can drag you in. If you don't follow, maybe this is your window. This is your gateway. Well, certainly the first fight was. Yes.

And the second fight, like, people, people criticize. MVP and Jake Paul for fighting a 58-year-old Mike Tyson. He could only have done that number that he did with Mike Tyson. I don't care if he was 58 or 98 or 20. Okay, simple as that. But one of the unintended benefits of that fight and one of the actual promotions, and I mean it in the best sense of the world, one of the things that promoted was women's boxing.

And however you saw Taylor Serrano too, it was one hell of a fight. It was an interesting fight. and you would not have seen it if you hadn't had like the circus at the top of the car. Yeah. So I think that that car did advance the sport. I'll buy that argument. It's an interesting thing because I've never been a critic of Jake Paul. It's really odd.

I mean, most people assume. Neither have I. No, which is really weird because the two of us, you know, we're in feeling. He works his ass off. You know what, Mark. He works his ass off. Mark, you and I have never discussed. December 6, 1962.

Yeah, you and I have. Don't we share birthday? We're born the same goddamn day. We must have the same mental afflictions, I guess so. So you and I have never discussed Jake Paul, but we've been around in this business an awful long time, and you've both, and you've just said that, and you've echoed my exact sentiment.

I've been asking people in the box of business who have been condemning him. I've been asking a simple question. What's his sin? I've never quite understood what this sin is, why people are so convinced he's the ruination of boxing. What's his sin? Well, one of the, our default, position particularly in this sport, Steve, is your first thing is when you hear something,

oh, it's, well, I mean, this business in part is built on BS. Of course it is. But there's a difference, especially in our sport, between good BS and just downright Larson is BS. And we should make that decision. Yeah, there's lies in our business. Okay, no, but, but, you know, there are three guys in my lifetime who understand the media on some intuitive gut level

than the media understands itself. Okay, there was Al Sharpton you may or may not remember. There's our... Correct. It would change shape drastically to the end of his life. There is our president, Donald Trump.

And there's Jake Paul. Another big boxing man. I'm not even making a political judgment. No, no, that's true. In terms of understanding what the media wants or needs on a gut level better than the media understand itself,

except that Paul understands it for better or worse, in a digital age, I don't know. I can barely put it. host, man. We're all farts. I don't know. But he understands it. And, you know, whether he's advanced the sport or not the men's sport, I don't know, but he has advanced the women's sport. Undoubtedly. You know, sometimes when I look at the Jake Paul criticism, and it's quite, it's quite

critical. It's quite important to understand the whole Jake Paul phenomenon with regards to this fight at the weekend. As you say, you know, we wouldn't have this fight at the weekend if Jake Paul had to thought Mike Tyson. We might not have this giant MVP ultra revolution if Jake Paul hadn't full Mike Tyson. Here's the thing. Jake Paul does understand. I'm not like no, but he understands something that apparently the rest of the guy's side of the aisle doesn't understand. If you take a loss, so what? He lost to Tommy Fury. Did it cost him his career? Great eight-rounder. Okay, eight-rounder.

All right. Okay, you lost. Big deal. And your career doesn't become dramatic until you lose. Did the loss hurt Serrano? No, no. Did the loss hurt Michaela Mayer? Hell no. Did the loss hurt Katie Taylor in Dublin against Chantel, Cameron? Not at all. So, I mean, I think that there's this erroneous idea out there, and it started this century, and it started with Floyd Mayweather of protecting the O or making the O's sacrosan. Fighters were not meant to be undefeated. that sort of sacred zero is a pay.

I'm not saying that Floyd didn't earn his zero. I'm talking about the rest of the guys who follow him trying to preserve their own. It screws up the sport. And the expectation is wrong. One thing I did like today, and it drags us into a bit of the hype, I did like that $250,000 bonus. I wasn't so keen on when Amanda Serrano

in that massively staged that way. She said, no, it's not. Katie and I won't take it. Katie was like, hey, wait, speak me yourself. Katie was like, Slow down. I think Katie was rough. That's a massive bone.

I mean, just the fact that we're talking about a 250,000 pound bonus. It's a huge payday for anybody. Oh, yes. I don't, I like, I look to Katie. Katie was like, hey, wait, speak for yourself. I want the 250. Because Katie's working out on the last two times we met. I'm walking away over $250,000 bonus.

Did you think that the female side of the sport would grow this way? No, I thought we'd have a few good years and I thought we'd have some good competitive fights because the top women have got a lot of history with each other. Sure, but did I think we'd be doing 19,000 in the garden? Did I think we've been... We had the rural album all sold out for Natasha Jonas against

Lauren Price. It was golden. I think, I think, at least in the States, a good bit of it has to do with the idea that we never get the fights we're supposed... You guys do. You guys get better fights in the UK than we get here.

Guys, at least we'll fight each other after a But over here it's like moving heaven and earth and and the women have moved in to fill the void and it has been a void for a lot of years And they have been shaming the men. I mean, let's get it right. I mean, I know we're getting one or two more one or two now, you know, the Saudi influences may be making one or two of them rock up against each other But we're still we're still doesn't it's almost like you got to bribe these guys to get in the ring You have to pay him a premium. The women have fueled great growth in the spirit. board and they've earned it the hardware by fighting. You know, guys talk about the best fighting the best. Constantly.

The women actually do it, which goes to my point, like, you know, if you've ever been married, like, they're tougher than we are. You know what? It's been an absolute pleasure catching out with Martin. Now, we will sit down sometime in the next, whatever, week or so, and talk about the book. First of all, how's the release been? I've had the book now for about three or four weeks.

I love the look of it. I love the weight of it. How about the read of it? You're making any progress, brother? No, I'm not starting yet. No, I'm not starting yet. No, because I'm not dipping in and out of that book. That's a read when I know I've got five days.

You've made help. You send me a lot of clipping, Steve, a lot of stuff. And I get a mention a couple of times, so thank you very much indeed. Right in Milton, I've written a couple of books as well, but I haven't written anything that's kind of as meaningful and as strong as that. Was it, once that was finished, once that was sent off, Was there a massive sense of relief in your house? No, it was worried.

Oh. It was worried. Worry about legal? It was supposed, it's the first of two volumes. It released, that's the plan right now. Oh, okay. So, no, relief, I don't know. I don't feel that much relief.

But it's doing good business? Yeah. I'll read it. We'll get together and we'll smash it out and we'll make something lovely. We'll make an individual summer pod. Thank you so much, Steve. And meanwhile, we'll be here Friday night,

cheering, standing up and enjoying ourselves. All right, buddy. Mark, thanks very much for your time. I'm going to let you go. The book, by the way, is genuinely fantastic. And we will do a special pod talking about his Mike Tyson book. Now, I've been promised that I could get in the scrum with Jake Paul, and I'm just going to wander over because I can see Nekisa Bidarian,

and I'm hopefully going to try and get him. Nekisa, can I just get 90 seconds with Jake? Just 90 seconds? 30 seconds, yes, right here. 30 seconds. Jake, thanks very much, Steve Bunce, BBC. I look to you up there. the proudest look on your face.

It was like you'd just become a father for the first and second and third time. Yeah, I've never get to sit in the crowd and watch the greatness of it all. And so I was really actually getting emotional. And it was actually cool to just not be backstage or not be on the stage and get to kind of watch it unfold. And then just to face off all these amazing women, just a dream come true and maybe emotional for sure. You seem that way. Can she do it this time, Amanda?

Can she win? I mean, the last 20 rounds have been really close. Can she adjust? You know, you're a boxer now. Can she adjust her feet? Can she do something different? She definitely can, and we believe in her, and she's a warrior, and she's been able to hurt Katie, and hopefully this time she can probably get a stoppage.

And just finally, you're looking at the Tourdom on that stage. Do you see any difference between the Tourdom from when we were here three years ago? I mean, you're looking at Kate? Do you think she looks a bit older? Do you think Amanda looks a bit fresher? What's your gut feeling? I think they both look really locked in. You could feel the hatred.

There's respect, but there's also. hatred and I think they both have a lot to prove because this is the biggest one yet. Thanks very much indeed. I really appreciate that the Keyzer. Thank you. Now that was Jake Paul then. Now continuing the Puerto Rican section of this post. I also caught up a little bit earlier with Cindy Serrana. Now she lost the Katie Taylor in a well-tied of fight back in 2018. She lost every single round. But that wasn't really the story. Cindy is always by her sister Amanda's side and her husband, Jordan Maldonado, He trains Amanda.

It's truly a family affair. Now, Cindy also seldom talks. I managed to grab some great time with her. Cindy, first of all, thanks for your time. Massive press conference. We're here again. I spoke to you before the first fight three years ago. Simple question.

How's your sister doing? Is she dealing with the pressure? Because it's such an enormous fight. No, actually, Amanda, I think she works well on the pressure. But this is an amazing opportunity and she's just rising to the occasion and she's just having fun. We definitely know it's going to be a great fight, hard fight. But we just got to embrace these moments because we don't get that often. So I think she's just excited and just...

I mean, do you think it's round 21 when we start? So we've had 10 rounds, then another 10 rounds, and here we go with another 10 rounds. What do you think that maybe one of them can change slightly? What's your gut feelings, Cindy? Well, it's definitely round 21 for sure. we just kind of, it's like fine-tuning, you know. Amanda's Amanda, and she's going to go out there and put on the show and be aggressive like she always does.

But obviously we lost the first two, the last two, I mean, and we just got to do little adjustments, and I think we can pull it off this time around. How does she stay so calm and so smiling? I mean, it can't be an act. I'm sure that's her. It's quite ridiculous. Yeah, that's just her personality.

My sister's a sweetheart. She's bubbly. She has no bad. It's funny because she has no bad mallet in her. We're definitely the opposite. But once she goes in the ring, she's like a total different person. Different human being. But that's just her MO.

That's just how she is. She's a sweetheart. And I really appreciate your time with us tonight. Can you give me a sense of how big she is and how big this fight is in Puerto Rico? I mean, you know, in Puerto Rico, is she just Amanda in Puerto Rico? No. Is she Amanda in Puerto Rico? No, she's Amanda Serrano.

She just took over like just as big as Miguel Cotto and Trinidad and Bad Bunny. So that's Amanda Serrano. We can't go anywhere anymore. But she loves that. She embraces that. That's her hometown. And that's really why she does it, I believe. She just wants to give Puerto Rico something to look forward to.

But all the devastations we have with hurricanes and all the, you know, stuff out there. So she just wants them to be happy and look forward to seeing something special on TV. And final question, I say, I appreciate your time. It's just a ridiculous relationship, her and Jake Paul. They're the odd couple. The odd couple of world sports. It is, it is. It's actually funny.

But praises to Jake Paul and Nekusa and Mbop. They sparked a light in Amanda because, you know, we've been doing this for so long. And right before she met her, she was just done. because all the hard work with little pay. So once they gave them into our life, I mean, they just gave a brand new fresh of air. And she's excited, she's happy, she loves them, we love them, their family.

And no matter what people's opinion on Jake, I think he's done nothing but the best for criminal boxing. And I'm excited to see now where women's boxing is gone. Because after that performance, after that incredible press conference, I mean, it was getting me excited, and I've been around a few press conferences, Final question. Go ahead.

Can your sister do it? Will she win? Will she get the decision this time? I think this time, I mean, I might be biased, but I thought she was going to last. You are biased. It's okay, though. But I definitely think this time it would go her way. And if it doesn't, you know what, it will be a spectacular fight.

But, like, you know, Katie's a warrior, Katie's amazing fighter. So I think Amanda has the tools to pull it off. So we'll see. But I know it's going to be a great fight. Cindy's been an absolute pleasure talking to you. I really mean that. You've been fantastic. Thank you.

Thanks for putting me away from your friends. Thank you. That was me talking to Cindy Serrano a bit earlier down by the stage. And she was with a group of people. They were all talking to her. And when I asked her if she could spare me a bit of time, all of them just eyed me. So there were like nine sets of eyes watching me,

hoping that I wouldn't say anything out of order or inappropriate. It was a pleasure to talk to Cindy Saran. I'm not spoken to her since before. The first fight between the next. these two women, Madison Square Garden in April 2020. Now, I spoke to some good people, but sometimes I want to need an expert, a real expert, someone that's going to give me insight in the type of thing I know. And I'm joined by a Puerto Rican living television legend from Telemondo Puerto Rico, Ricardo

Torres. First of all, thank you so much for your time. Of course. I have to ask you, how good was the press conference today? It was just fantastic, wasn't it? I think it was amazing. First of all, thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate them.

I thought it was the best show we have ever seen in a female card. It was a press conference for the ages. I love the fact that they gave all the women's the platform, the exposition, the importance they need and they deserve. So I thought that was very well done. And I thought all the ladies looked fantastic. They speak the words that were necessary. They not make any promises, crazy promises.

No, no stupid talk. They didn't try to oversell. They were very realistic, very professional, very calm, very classy, and I thought it was a great show. So, and now, Ricardo, the reason why I really wanted to speak to you is quite simple. I want to know how big the Serrano Sistas are in Puerto Rico. What is it like? Can they just do what they like?

They can just go shopping? Like normal? Well, tell me. Amanda definitely can't. Everybody loves Amanda and she is an athlete for the people, you know? She's the queen of the people. So she goes to basketball games, she goes to the stores, she goes and buy new sneakers. She has like 300 or 400 pairs.

Yeah, that's her weakness. It's crazy, but she enjoys that. And she's a trailblazer for women in sports. in Puerto Rico. We have had two Olympic medals, but in professional two women winning Olympic gold, but in

professional sports, I think she's untouchable. She's untouchable. And she's so, and I mean, I understand a little bit about, I've spoken to Cindy and I've been around Amanda a couple of times, it seems to me that she's genuinely

a nice person. What you see is what you get. Oh, man. She's just this unbelievable person. She's as a little. authentic as she can be. And she's an action figure. She's an action hero.

She loves everything that has to do with fighting, with action, with sports. She's big into UFC. She's big into wrestling. She's big into boxing. She deserves her own action figure. I swear. Because she's like that.

An action figure of Amanda Serrano. She should have one. She should have one. And finally, and Ricardo, Thanks so much for your time. Jake Paul, some people hate him, some people love him, but he's doing great stuff in Puerto Rico as well alongside Amanda. It's just one of the oddest relationships in sport.

And the funny thing about that is that you don't see Jake a lot in the island. He keeps to himself very reclusive, very private. It's his home. He has a beautiful home in Dorado right in front of the beach. By the way, the house used to be for Ivan Rodriguez, Punch Rodriguez, baseball, catcher. Massive baseball player. Yeah, and Jadier Molina too.

So yeah, he keeps to himself, but he's living a very strong legacy in the island. He cares about kids in sports, special in boxing, and he's rehabbing and developing gyms and sports facilities. That's another side to Jake. Another side to Jake. For kids to practice boxing, so you gotta give him his flowers because he's doing great stuff in there. And finally, we're on the... the stage today at the press conference, Amanda gave a great answer and it was in Puerto

Rican. I'd like to think it was, and I would do it for the island because my heart is in the island. Please, Ricardo, give me something like that in Puerto Rican for the BBC. Give me something. Give me a kind of what Amanda Serrano would promise to people. Tell me, go on. In Spanish, boxing is love. Boxesio is amor, boxo is culture, boxer of family, and Amanda, our campaigner. Oh, now translate that's beautiful. to boxing is love, boxing is culture, boxing history,

and Amanda is our champion. Ricardo, you have just nailed that like a beauty. Thank you very much indeed. Love in talking to you. Ricardo, thank you very much. Now, I can see Ellie Scott, the Queen of Calford and a friend of the potters, as we like to say, she's just finishing in this. There's four positions.

There's about 30 people in each position, and the boxes are being led down by people from MVP. Now, Ellie is just finishing. She's not finished just yet, so that gives me a chance to give you something I did early on. I spoke to Ross Ename. Yeah, exactly. Not many people would get to speak to Ross Ename. He's been Katie's trainer since the very start.

He's always there. He's that figure on her shoulder. Often not smiling, except for at the end of fights that they win, and they win, obviously, most of their fights. I sat down with him a little bit earlier, and we did a little chat. It was just a nice chat. It was an informal chat.

One of the things I wanted to know, really, is just how hard it is to prepare someone like Katie for a fight like this. Ross, thanks for giving me a bit of your time. So is this fight, is it just round 21? We've had 2.10 rounders. Is this round 21? I think in some sense it is. Obviously, both fighters are probably going to try to make little adjustments,

but let's be honest, we're both towards the latter stages of their careers. You're not going to change a fighter too much in six months since they last fought. You know, before the build-up to the first fight, you know, you're with Katie, you're doing lots of work then. Was it easier to prepare for the second one, or was it harder in some kind of way? I don't think it's ever easier. I mean, you're obviously always trying to improve on the last night that you had.

So, I mean, I don't think it's ever easier. But third time around, we obviously know Amanda pretty well. She knows you pretty well. Yeah, they know us pretty well, too. So I think we both know what we're going to get. It's going to come down to who makes little adjustments, who's in better shape in the later rounds and who digs down when it comes down to it. Well, I was going to ask you this a bit of a personal question.

You know, do you and Katie, after six weeks, two weeks, two months, sit down and watch the fight together and analyze it? Or do you do it and she does it, you do it separately? How does it work? Yeah, I mean, she's not big on watching the fight back, so I kind of have to pick and choose what I want to show her. You know, I'll find... To keep her attention?

Yeah, yeah. Like, rather than sitting through the whole fight, I'll pick little spots that I want to highlight in a little 60-second clip and even that sometimes she's not crazy about, but it's got to be done. Well, you know, the whole thing with Katie, I mean, you're reading the plaudits, you know, everyone's just saying that without her women's boxing wouldn't be where it is. Well, you're part of that journey too.

You don't, you just live, you just do your stuff in the ring, you're laughing now. That's just you know, it's great to be here, but I don't really look at that way. I mean, it's just we're trying to win fights. I don't really look at it as whether it's female boxing or male boxing. She's obviously done a lot and she's got a lot to be proud for, but, you know, I'm just focused on what's coming on Friday night. And just finally, some of those rounds when she's come back, when they've just been the most amazing rounds,

you must be breathless when she walks back to the corner because we just witness some of the very best rounds we could watch. Yeah, like one of the things that makes Katie different from a lot of these girls, I tell her, like, she's got balls on her, you know. She digs down in those places that most men or women could never dream of going. And she's shown it time and time again, and you've got to be born with that.

You can't give that to somebody. Can't teach that. And final question. After the fight, I know Katie's exhausted. Are you exhausted? Do you have to lock yourself in the dark room and come down? It's a long camp. I do a lot of the training with her, the running with her.

It's a long fight week. So, you know, when it's over, I'll definitely be taking a little bit of a break. Ross, it's a pleasure talking to you. No, no problem. No problem at all. Now, up on the stage, and it was a glorious stage. It was one of the slickest runcoms I've ever seen was Ellie Scottney. Ellie, I'm going to ask you this quite, were you blown away by that whole conference?

Just the whole thing. It was like a sermon up there. It was like being in church. They had that feel to it? Yeah, it certainly did. I feel like when me and Jake come over last time to experience the presser, we kind of had a taste of it. So, yeah, I feel like the length of it and stuff like that, it just represents the sort of card it is. And to be part of that, like I say, it is a blessing.

You know at the end when they pulled you all up and you're in that one big line, all of the women, apart from Chantelle who's still in the sky? I couldn't know. But no, but no, she's just looking down the line. lying looking at the people. What a lineup, eh? It was mad, you know. I giggled to myself because, like you said, there's 17 world title fights and I think three

magazine belt, so maybe four. It's madness. I think if you put that on the Moush card, I don't even think his excellency would have fooled it. So it is madness when you look it in. I think all of us up there won't realize until we're in our bed Saturday, early hours of the morning. No chance to sleep in.

Yeah, no chance to sleep. No, with a box of crumb cookies and thinking, damn, what's up in there? And let me ask this. finally, I really appreciate your time. So, no, has it been a draining week? Is it a hard week? Or is it a week you can enjoy? And I mean, you know, you don't have to lie to me, because they're long weeks.

Yeah, yeah. I'm not a fighter that in, I just try to maintain who I am out of the everything, even in the media. I put that in. So I just feel, I feel chilled, even though it has been demanding in terms of you here, there, you're, but it's part of the past. We've got to do it. But, yeah, I just, I feel like I just want to fight, but. I just want to fight. I just want to fight.

I'm there now, we're that close, but yeah, yeah, I'm ready to go. And final, final question. You know when you were around Katie, when you're around Katie, when you're around Amanda, can you sense the tension between the two of them? So I know there's smiles and they're making little jokes, but what's it like? Yeah. I think there's an air of real, you know, it's real, there's real needle there. Yeah, without being in each other's faces.

Yeah, without being in each other's face and about being nasty. I think that is there. And I think Friday might, you might be ready for them. the biggest and best fight they've had between them and that says a lot because both have been candidates, haven't they? Ellie, thank you. You get yourself off to bed. They're tough weeks, Steve. They're massive weeks. Now, Chantelle Cameron wasn't actually at the press conference.

She obviously wasn't at the open workout yesterday. There was a problem with her visa. That was the story that we're told. But she's in the sky. She's definitely a Swifty Smith. Her trainer is here. He's actually in New York. And Chantel landed. By the end of the conference, she had landed. Now I'm not going to bring you Chantelle Cameron tomorrow, but I am going to bring you, who's also in the sky, as we speak,

Barry Jones will join me because it's going to be the way in tomorrow. And that's also, that means it's going to be the press conference for the other fights involving Hamza-Sier-Res. It's a complicated week here in New York. I said I would deliver some voices, some odd voices, some rare voices. Voices, even if you're a follower of this podcast, you might never have heard before. And that's what we do when we go away on these big fight weeks.

We gather everything together. And sometimes it might sound like it's just been thrown together. That's rubbish. We plan all of it. Honestly, we do. Pinocchio said. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. We're back tomorrow.

Barry Jones will be with me. It would be previewing, previewing the trilogy fight, the history fight. Katie Taylor against Amanda Serrano, in the garden on Friday. night. I'm Steve Bunce and this has once again been a very special five life boxing. From my very first game I knew that I wanted to be a goalkeeper, the buzz and the adrenaline that I got from it. The dream was to always represent my country. Mary Earbs, desperate to impress. I remember saying I know I've got what it takes.

You have to be obsessed. Mary Ups with a Super Save. You just look at some of the saves that she makes. Not everyone can do that. I really had no idea really how far I would go. It felt like my world was ending. That was the moment I was in pieces on the kitchen floor. You have to hit rock bottom to understand what you really want. Mary would put herself in front of anything and feel like she could stop it. I've done something that I'd always dreamed of doing,

that I never knew if I'd get the opportunity to do. Mary Earps, Queen of Stops. Watch on BBC Eye Player.