Katie Taylor won a dubious rematch with Amanda Serrano as she left the AT&T Stadium in Texas to boos following her victory.
In a ferocious encounter, much like their epic first bout in 2022 at Madison Square Garden, it was a closely-fought contest that Taylor edged out on the scorecards as all three judges gave it to her 95-94.
With the result, the 38-year-old Irishwoman retained her IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO light-welterweight titles, extending her record to 24 wins and one defeat.
Serrano, who kept punching despite getting a nasty cut over her left eye in the fourth round, was the crowd favourite much the same way she was in the the disputed split decision two years ago.
It might have started a little more slowly than the New York meeting, but things changed when Serrano, who is from Puerto Rico but lives in New York, sustained the nasty cut.
The injury forced the referee to call a timeout in the middle of the sixth round, and frequent close-ups the rest of the fight drew gasps from the crowd in the first-ever combat sports telecast on Netflix.
Serrano never stopped punching, though, and appeared to have Taylor teetering in the final seconds of the bout. Taylor leaned in on Serrano repeatedly, appearing to have trouble keeping herself up on her own. She had already been deducted a point for head-butting in the eighth round.
Amanda Serrano accuses Katie Taylor of foul play
Following the fight, Serrano said: ‘I knew it if went to the judges it was going to be a little shady. I chose to be great. I went up three divisions. It is what it is. I’m a featherweight, man.
‘She kept headbutting me. It’s what she does. It’s not just my fight, it’s all her fights. It’s what she does.’
Katie Taylor insists she ‘wasn’t fighting dirty’
Taylor defended her actions, saying: “I certainly wasn’t fighting dirty. It gets rough in there. It was an absolute slugfest, a war. This is an amazing moment in women’s boxing. Thank god for another amazing fight.’
Taylor was fighting for the first time since avenging her only professional loss by beating Chantelle Cameron for the undisputed super lightweight title in a rematch in her home country a year ago.
The Taylor-Serrano fight in New York was more a celebration of women’s boxing, despite the questions over the result. Serrano was a little more frustrated this time, questioning how fair the fight was with her complaints of head-butts and holding as the fight progressed.
Serrano was in trouble after the sixth round, the ring doctor asking if she could continue as the wound was treated. She said yes, and didn’t show many signs of slowing down.
The pair traded flurries of punches most of the way, especially in the final round while knowing the judging would be close.
The fight was the co-main event with Jake Paul defeating Mike Tyson via a unanimous points decision afterwards.
