Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano via majority decision in a historic night at Madison Square Garden to remain undisputed light-welterweight champion of the world and complete an epic trilogy against the Puerto Rican boxer by winning all three fights.
Taylor, who defeated Serrano by split decision in April 2022 in what is considered to be one of the greatest fights ever at MSG before winning controversially by unanimous decision in Arlington, TX last November, secured a deserved third victory over Serrano following a cagey contest on Friday night.
Taylor was defending her IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring light-welterweight titles during Friday night’s title fight and enjoyed her most conclusive performance against Serrano in front of a packed house that created a raucous atmosphere in New York, with thousands of Irish and Puerto Rican supporters in attendance.
The trilogy fight, which served as the co-main event on the first-ever all-female boxing card at Madison Square Garden, was far more conservative than each of Taylor’s two previous meetings with Serrano.
Both fighters were reluctant to take risks throughout Friday night’s bouts, particularly early on, with Taylor seeking to land single blows against Serrano and relying on her excellent footwork to get out of danger.
Serrano, meanwhile, was for more content to throw punches than Taylor, but often found her accuracy wanting. By the end of the ninth round, Serrano had thrown almost 140 more punches than her Irish opponent, but had landed just one more.
The Irish boxer said she delivered a “smart performance” on Friday by avoiding the “complete wars” of previous fights against Serrano. Taylor said the previous two fights had left her “battered and bruised.”
Taylor, 39, said she did not know if Friday’s fight was the last of her career but did hint that she is open to a fight at Croke Park, Ireland’s national stadium. However, she did close the door on any future fights with Serrano after her third consecutive victory over the Puerto Rican fighter but described her opponent as an “amazing champion.”
In a tense opening two rounds, including an opening round where both fighters failed to land a punch, both Taylor and Serrano failed to land any significant shots or gain any momentum before Serrano made some headway in the third.
The Puerto Rican fighter began to loosen up and breached the Taylor defense with some combinations before Taylor finally found her feet in the fourth, finishing the round with her first big left-right combination that drew a huge cheer from the Irish contingent in MSG.
Serrano probably shaded the contest at the halfway stage before the fight sparked into life in the sixth, with Taylor beginning to take control. The veteran Irish fighter brought the crowd to its feet with a big combination early in the round before closing the sixth with a big counter right hook.
Taylor now had all the momentum and came forward aggressively in the seventh, landing more frequently and dominating the center of the ring, but Serrano was back on the front foot in the eighth to set up two pivotal rounds.
Taylor just about edged a nip-and-tuck ninth round but saved her best until last, catching Serrano with a sweet left hook at the beginning of the tenth before closing the fight with an excellent left-right combination.
At the end, it was Taylor’s hand raised aloft after her most complete performance of the trilogy, and Serrano, who had disputed both previous results, could have little complaints about the outcome of Friday’s fight.
Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn praised the veteran fighter for “rolling back the years,” adding that he believes the Irish fighter is capable of several more fights before hanging up her gloves.
Hearn added that Taylor has “earned the right” to do whatever she wants in the remainder of her career
Taylor was much more reserved and said she would “sit back” and decide whether or not to fight again.
Meanwhile, in the co-main event of the evening, America’s Alycia Baumgardner remained the unanimous super-featherweight world champion with a complete performance against Spain’s Jennifer Miranda, while New Jersey’s Shadasia Green sprung a surprise victory over Savannah Marshall earlier in the evening.
Green, who went into the fight as WBO super-middleweight world champion, won via split decision against Marshall, the reigning IBF and Ring titleholder.
In the first fight of the main card, Britain’s Ellie Scotney gave an exquisite performance to defeat Yamileth Mercado in a super-bantamweight title unifier fight.
The all-female card, organized by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions, featured a world-record 17 world titles on the line and drew an audience of over 19,000 people.
“It was an incredible night all the way through,” Paul said. “We made history.”
