Katie Taylor went through hell and high water to edge past Amanda Serrano in another ten-round war.
Taylor and Serrano met in a historic rematch in front of over 70,00 fans at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, as the co-main event to Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson on Friday night.
Taylor had offered Serrano another world title chance for her undisputed light-welterweight titles, after the pair became Madison Square Garden’s first female boxing headline act in 2022 in their lightweight encounter.
It what was a nip and tuck battle between both woman from start to finish, which ultimately ended in Ireland’s Taylor retaining her belts by unanimous decision after ten rounds.
Boos rang down from the Texas crowd after the decision was announced as many fans in attendance, who were pro-Serrano throughout the fight, thought the Puerto Rican deserved the victory.
Taylor, 38, caught up with talkSPORT in the aftermath of the bout and discussed the decision, as well as a potential trilogy bout along with her future in the sport.
“I had to dig deep there again tonight, but I’m so happy to get another win,” she said.
“Another amazing night live on Netflix, another monumental moment. I’m just so happy.
“It’s very fresh right now, I obviously have to look back at the video, but I feel like I landed the bigger shots in the second half of the fight.
“I feel like my inside hook was very good tonight and that’s what won me the fight in the end. It just took a lot of heart and grit in there tonight and I got the job done again.
“I wasn’t sure how the fight was going to go. It was a close fight, but all the judges were in agreement and I was happy with that.”
Serrano suffered a grotesque cut over her right eye during the rematch and was checked by the doctor in the sixth round.
Promoter Eddie Hearn, who wasn’t sure if he would even get into the AT&T arena after criticising the Tyson-Paul fight, watched on at ringside.
Taylor was docked a point for continuous headbutts to her opponent as Serrano’s eyesight worsened with her having to constantly wipe blood away.
She was then rocked by an uppercut in the seventh round before responding with a two-punch combination as the Texas fans realised they had got their money’s worth–even before Paul or Tyson had made their ring walk.
Both women traded several blows after the points deduction, with statistics showing that Serrano had caught Taylor with over 100 more punches by the end of the fight.
The scorecards were then counted and Taylor was announced as the winner, retaining her title with all three judges awarding it as 95-94 in her favour.
“I’ve beat her twice now, so is there any need for a trilogy?” Taylor added.
“But if she wants it, it’s her fight [and] I can absolutely give it to her again.”
After beating Serrano at the first time of asking in April 2022, Taylor had consecutive bouts with Northampton’s Chantelle Cameron at Dublin’s 3Arena.
Taylor lost the pair’s first bout last May, but wound up dealing Cameron her first professional boxing defeat as she secured the decision victory five months later.
At 38, however, Taylor’s ring appearances are numbered.
“I’m gonna have to make that decision now obviously in the next few days or so,” Taylor said when discussing potential retirement.
“But I love my sport, I love my boxing and tonight was a great night. But I do feel like I have maybe one or two more fights in me.
“I had my homecoming in Ireland in the 3Arena. It was amazing to headline the 3Arena twice. Absolutely incredible. I’d love a Croke Park fight for sure, but we’ll see what happens.”
Taylor secured the victory in Texas on Friday night, before heavyweight legend Tyson was beaten by YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul on points.
The fight was widely criticised due to its lack of quality, with leading figures from the boxing world such as Gervonta Davis and Tony Bellew leading an outcry against the event.
Four-division world champion Terence Crawford also had strong words on the encounter, saying Tyson ‘looked like trash’ adding that ‘97 punches the whole fight’ was crazy.
