Katie Taylor was booed by fans as she narrowly beat a cut Amanda Serrano in a thrilling second war.
Taylor and Serrano met in a historic and seismic rematch in front of over 70,000 fans at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, as a second main event alongside Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson.
The pair had sent fans into a frenzy in their thrilling first instalment, with Taylor getting the edge on the scorecards in a New York cracker.
And their record-breaking sequel lived up to the billing, but ended in far more controversial fashion.
Serrano sustained a nasty cut over her right eye, and was checked by the doctor in the sixth round.
Taylor was also deducted a point, but as the scorecards were counted, she retained the titles by unanimous decision with all the judges awarding it as 95-94 in her favour.
The boos rang down from the crowd in Texas, who were already pro-Serrano throughout the fight.
The Irish star was then subject to further boos as she spoke in her post-fight interview, assessing her win.
Serrano was angry in her own interview, and roared on by the crowd.
She said: “I dared to be great tonight, I am the featherweight champion of the world.
“It is what it is. Every time you get a cut, it bothers you, she kept headbutting you, but we knew that is what she do.
“No matter how many cuts I have on my face, I will go until the very end.
“I think 100 per cent [the headbutts were intentional]. Using her head, dirty.”
The pair were clearly familiar and it showed in the opener with the fighters not wasting time to tussle for early dominance, with both letting their jabs go frequently.
And Serrano was wobbled early on by some ferocious shots, with the Puerto Rican clipping the Irishman with a stunning barrage but luckily for the Irish star the bell sounded.
She was able to survive and regain her composure, but the frightening pace continued as Taylor clearly showed early signs she was struggling to deal with her rival through three rounds.
Despite the early adversity, Taylor acted on the advice of her trainer and tried to make things a ‘boxing match’, dipping in and out with some big combinations.
And it was Serrano who was cut as a result of a nasty clash of heads, with the doctor checking the warrior to see if she could continue.
But she was given the all clear in the sixth round as the doctor attended to her cut, and after asking cleared her to continue.
As a result the fight burst into action in the seventh, as the pair exchanged in explosive barrages with Serrano trying to walk her opponent down.
Taylor was subsequently deducted a point in the eighth, for leading with her head, an aspect which Serrano’s corner believe was cause of the cut.
But incredibly the history-making fight ended in Taylor’s hands again who took a decision, which many scored close, to preserve her undefeated record.
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Draw – 9/1
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