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Katie Taylor edged out Amanda Serrano to retain her undisputed lightweight crown in an epic fight for the ages at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Taylor was trying to fight off in the early rounds. Serrano came on very strong in the fifth and had her fans on her feet as she badly hurt the Irish legend and the roof came off the sold out arena as they traded heavy blows, with Serrano unloading with very heavy punches.
Taylor was on the verge of getting stopped, but managed to stay on her feet and absorbed a lot of punishment. One of the official judges scored the round 10-8 without a knockdown.
If the fifth round was exciting, the sixth was more of the same as Taylor threw everything she had at the Brooklyn ace who fired back in kind. By the end of the sixth, Taylor seemed to regain her composure despite the heavy shots she’d taken as rounds seven and eight came and went with the defending champion picking her shots and trying to resist going toe-to-toe with the heavy-handed Puerto Rican.
Both fighters knew the bout was in the balance and served up a stunning final two minutes, and after the crowd roared their appreciation for being lucky enough to witness an unforgettable and history-making night, it was Taylor whose hand was raised by split decision (97-93, 96-93 and 94-96).
“I didn’t get the decision, but I think I fought a great fight. Congratulations to Katie Taylor, who promised me we would rock the house. I’m happy we made women’s boxing look great tonight. Now I go and start spending some of this money,” Serrano said.
“Katie is a great champion. “She’s undefeated and undisputed, I’m truly honored to share the ring. Women can sell, women can fight and women can put on a hell of a show.”