After their instant classic in their first meeting, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano served up another cracking bout as the pair battled all the way to the scorecards once again in their fight for the undisputed super lightweight crown in Arlington, Texas.
Taylor-Serrano 2 served as the co-main event on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight card, and the pair delivered the fight of the night as they went back and forth in a bout that was every bit as close as their first meeting, which Taylor edged via split decision.
That first fight split the judges, and the fans, with some feeling Serrano had done enough to edge it, while others agreed with the judges’ scores. And the rematch will have the boxing world talking once again after Taylor ran out the unanimous decision victory, with all three judges scoring the fight 95-94 in her favour.
Statistically, Serrano landed and outworked Taylor, landing 327 shots from 734 (an accuracy percentage of 44 percent) compared to Taylor’s 217 from 529 (accuracy percentage of 41 percent).
Taylor was also deducted a point late in the fight after a clash of heads that left Serrano with a cut eyelid.
But, despite that sanction, Taylor was adjudged to have done enough over the 12 rounds to claim the victory as she retained her undisputed super-lightweight title.
“It was obviously very hard to tell during the fight, but it was an absolute slugfest in there. An absolute war,” said Taylor after her victory.
“And thank God that I won this fight, and congratulations to Amanda. She’s a fantastic champion. I think we’ve agreed to 12 three-minute rounds for our next fight, so the triple is on.”
“That’s what a boxer does. We train so hard to recover from those moments. Any punch can change a fight in boxing, and she’s a hard puncher, she’s a very tough warrior and I had to prepare 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 definitely didn’t agree with the point deduction. I certainly wasn’t fighting dirty. Sometimes it gets rough in there, and you have to prepare for those moments.
“This is an amazing moment again for women’s boxing. We put on a show, we put on a performance again for everybody and thanks God for another crazy fight.”
Serrano was proud in defeat, but wasn’t happy with the head clashes during the fight that left her with a bad cut over her right eye.
“I know the judges were going to be a little bit shady. But listen, I came here, I chose to be great,” she said.
“I moved up three divisions. I lost in two (fights), but I dared to be great tonight, and I moved up three divisions. I am the featherweight champion of the world. I want to be great, I only want to fight the best and listen, it is what it is. I’m a featherweight, man!
“Listen, every time you get a cut, it bothers you. You get blood in your eye, it hurts. She kept headbutting me, but we knew that from the very beginning from the first fight. That’s what they do. It’s not only my fight, she did it with Chantelle Cameron.
“Listen, I’m gonna die in this ring, no matter what. No matter how many cuts I have on my face, I’m gonna fight until the very end.”
