Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano were renewing hostilities two years after their first fight became an instant classic at Madison Square Garden
Katie Taylor retained her world titles with a thrilling win over a bloodied Amanda Serrano – but was booed out of the ring.
Taylor edged out Serrano two years ago in an instant classic in New York but the rivals had to wait for a spot on the undercard of Mike Tyson’s fight with Jake Paul on Friday night. The fight was worth the wait however as Serrano overcame an horrendous cut to hear the final bell with Taylor deducted a point for leading with her head.
Nevertheless, each of the three judges scored the fight to Taylor by a point as the Irish star retained her status as the undisputed super-lightweight champion.
“Well, it’s obviously hard to score the fight, but I knew it was an absolute slug fest in there, an absolute war,” said Taylor as she was drowned out by jeers from the crowd in Dallas. “Thank God I won this fight, congratulations to Amanda. She’s a fantastic fighter. I think we agreed to 12 three-minute rounds in our next fight; the triple is on.”
Quizzed in the ring on the bout and its key moments, Taylor responded: “That’s what a boxer does, we train to recover from those moments. Any punch can change a fight in boxing. She’s a hard puncher, she’s very tough and I prepared for that. I don’t care if the commentary team or the crowd disagree with the result. The only ones that matter are the judges around the ring.
“I didn’t agree with the point deduction. I certainly wasn’t fighting dirty. Sometimes it gets dirty in there and you have to prepare for those moments. This is an amazing moment for women’s boxing, we put on a show for everybody.”
Serrano started strongly, sending Taylor back into the ropes with a straight left hand in the opening stages. The champion looked dazed but recovered to hear the bell, only for her challenger to resume her assault in the second session. Serrano looked calm and composed as she methodically stalked Taylor around the ring.
Taylor decided to throw caution to the wind in the fourth round and fight fire with fire as the 70,000 fans in attendance were transported back to Madison Square Garden. Taylor punctuated the round with successive left hands to leave Serrano with questions to answer.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the fifth stanza was a quieter affair but Taylor was looking the more composed as Serrano, who by now was bleeding over her right eye, began to lose her composure and chase the champion round the ring. Serrano’s cut had opened up badly by the sixth round and she cut a frustrated figure as she was checked by the ringside doctor. The women were given the nod to continue, however, and Serrano sensed it was now or never.
Any doubts about this fight living up to its predecessor had long since been vanquished as Serrano fought back in the seventh round, piling on the pressure. The Puerto Rican’s corner had managed to stem the worst of the bleeding as the challenger attempted to stamp her authority on the remaining rounds.
And she was handed a huge advantage when Taylor was deducted a point in the eighth round for leading with her head having been warned earlier in the session. The champion appeared to be targeting Serrano’s cut which threatened to spill out again.
The rivals were trading blows in sync in the penultimate round as they answered each other’s blows instantly and with equal precision. The final round was a thing of beauty with neither woman giving an inch until the final bell, although Taylor came on stronger in the dying embers.
Serrano’s corner branded Taylor a ‘cheat’ during the contest and the fighter herself suggested the Irish boxer had done the same in a previous fight against Chantelle Cameron.
However, despite the fury of the crowd, via unanimous decision, 95-94 across the scorecards, it was Taylor’s night.
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