Katie Taylor proved once again that she is a force to be reckoned with, as the undefeated Irishwoman defended her undisputed female lightweight championship against the toughest challenge of her career yet, Amanda Serrano, in a neck to neck 10 round contest that ended with Taylor winning via split decision a the Madison Square Garden.
Serrano, the unified female featherweight world champion who suffered her first professional career defeat, came very close to securing a stoppage in the fourth round, but Taylor bounced back strong and after ten rounds of skirmish, two of the three judges scored the fight 97-93 and 96-93 for Taylor, while the third judge favored Serrano 96-94.
The fight started off with contrasting approaches from both pugilists. While Serrano had taken a more offensive approach, Taylor focused on landing counters. Even though Serrano had a more versatile striking from the start with head-body combination strikes, Taylor eventually unleashed her arsenal from the third.
The fourth round saw the fight nearly coming to an end as Serrano unloaded her barrage on punches on Taylor in the corner, followed by a huge overhand right that shacked Taylor, and blood was seen coming down from her nose.
However, “The Bray Bomber” stood on her feet and continued absorbing the punishment from her opponent and eventually Serrano’s striking slowed down with an opportunity for Taylor to make a comeback. It was now the lightweight champ’s turn to get on the offensive and Taylor showed much more precision and volume in her striking compared to serrano.
Edging close to the end of the fight, both boxers unleashed everything they had on each other in hopes of securing a stoppage or winning the favour of the judges and in the process, they traded blows until the final bell.
Following the level pegging contest, both contenders showed immense appraisal for one another and Taylor even nodded for a rematch as proposed by her promoter Eddie Hearn which may take place in Croke Park in Ireland later this year.
“What a fighter Amanda Serrano is,” Taylor lauded her opponent after the win, “The biggest fight in female boxing history. It feels great to be in this position. I knew exactly that I had to dig deep in this fight. She’s a phenomenal fighter and a great, great person. I knew I was going to be able to come through.”
“They say nobody wants to see women!” stated Serrano. “Katie’s a great champion. I’m truly honored to share the ring with you. Women can sell, women can fight and we put on a hell of a show.”
The main event of the night saw Shakur Stevenson becoming the unified WBC, WBO super featherweight champion after winning the green and gold belt from Oscar Valdez via unanimous decision.
Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano full fight card results:
- Main event: Shakur Stevenson (c) def. Oscar Valdez via unanimous decision (117-110, 118-109, 118-109)
- Katie Taylor (c) def. Amanda Serrano via split decision (94-96, 97-93, 96-93)
- Keyshawn Davis def. Esteban Sanchez via sixth-round TKO
- Nico Ali Walsh def. Alejandro Ibarra via first-round knockout
- Liam Smith def. Jessie Vargas via 10th-round TKO
- Franchon Crews-Dezurn (c) def. Elin Cederroos via unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, 97-93)
