May 01, (THEWILL) – Katie Taylor weathered her toughest test as a professional boxer on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, maintaining her title as the undisputed women’s lightweight champion with a split-decision victory over Amanda Serrano.
Taylor won the fight by scores of 97-93, 94-96, and 96-93, keeping his perfect record intact.
Serrano and Taylor were the first ever women to headline a programme at Madison Square Garden, and the bout was billed as the largest in women’s boxing history.
Serrano has won titles in seven different weight classes, most recently at featherweight, while Taylor has dominated at lightweight as a pro and amateur.
Both boxers were locked in from the outset. Taylor’s jerky, in-and-out movement has long perplexed her critics. Serrano put her front foot inside Taylor’s on a couple of occasions early on, but Taylor did not do anything to capitalise.
Taylor was the busier puncher at first, throwing behind her feints with her right hand. In the second round, she landed a few stinging hits that caused her opponent to reset. Throughout the first three rounds, her movement was remarkable.
The Madison Square Garden audience was pumped for this historic event. They erupted in applause after each major punch, with a sizable Puerto Rican presence backing Serrano and a sizable chunk of the audience behind Taylor.
Serrano’s main concern was whether she would be able to line up her shots on Taylor and if her power would translate to the lightweight division (she had spent most of her career below 130 pounds). She took a few rounds to make an impression, but once she did, it was evident that she was the same warrior at this weight.
Serrano found the range on her counterpunches in the third and fourth rounds. Taylor’s right eye was cut open by one of the shots that got through.
The challenger’s consistent improvement resulted in a big fifth round win. Serrano trapped Taylor on the ropes, and the two sparred violently. Serrano eventually had the upper hand, hitting Taylor with an overhand right that shook her to her core. To stay alive, Taylor had to smother Serrano’s punches for the second part of the two-minute round.
Serrano stayed in command until the sixth round, but she may have depleted her reserves in the fifth round by pushing for the knockout.
Despite being a bloody mess, Taylor was able to regain her composure and resume her movement around the ring. She was able to avoid Serrano’s direct blows by moving her head, and in the eighth round, she darted around the ring and landed a few good right-handed shots.
After another solid ninth round from Taylor, both fighters went for broke in the tenth. They expended every last ounce of energy hurling haymakers at each other, and the crowd erupted until the final bell rang.
The judges thought Taylor had done enough in the late rounds to win, although Serrano may have been a few punches away from winning the fight.
The Saturday night battle lived up to expectations. Serrano’s strength carried her through the middle rounds, and she came close to scoring a knockdown in the fifth. In the early and late rounds, Taylor was the better boxer, using her footwork and feints to make Serrano miss and deliver punches from acute angles.
Taylor has now won six times as the undisputed lightweight champion. In August of 2020, she was the first to unite the belts. It is Serrano’s second career loss. Her only other loss came in 2012, when she was defeated by Frida Wallberg in a decision.
Serrano thanked Taylor after the fight and spoke about how significant the battle was for their sport.
Both Taylor’s and Serrano’s promoters, Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul, have expressed interest in a rematch, maybe in Taylor’s home country of Ireland. Paul responded: “100 percent. [Serrano] is a true champion and we are down for whatever, whenever. We have unfinished business.”
The ferocity of the fight, as well as the level of talent on display, calls for a rematch. With both promoters on board for a rematch, it is likely that the largest fight in women’s boxing will be followed by the biggest rematch in the sport’s history.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
