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Katie Taylor secured a second victory over Amanda Serrano on Friday, dealing her rival a gruesome cut en route to a points win.
Taylor narrowly defeated Serrano via decision in 2022, retaining the undisputed lightweight titles, while the Irishwoman’s super-lightweight belts were on the line in this rematch.
And Taylor, 38, again edged past the Puerto Rican, 36, much to the disdain of the crowd at Dallas’s AT&T Stadium – where the fight played out before Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson.
After being warned for leading with her head, Taylor was docked a point late in the contest, but she was still able to achieve three scorecards of 95-94. Serrano, the unified featherweight champion, was not defending her titles in Friday’s fight.
The bout began with Serrano taking the centre of the ring and pressing forward, initiating frenzied exchanges. It appeared as though each woman was trying to earn the other’s respect – not that it was necessary, after their back-and-forth classic two years ago. Southpaw Serrano seemed to stun Taylor with a pair of sharp, straight shots at the end of the round, sending the Irishwoman stumbling away. Taylor was then lambasted by her team before round two.
Taylor began to throw with more volume in round two, but Serrano was seemingly landing harder, despite coming up by three divisions for this bout. Still, Serrano’s face was marked up by the time the bell sounded. In any case, she continued to stalk Taylor in the third frame, picking her moments to let go with big shots, while Taylor looked to time counters. Serrano also began to increase the volume of her output, though Taylor replied with one trademark flurry, her hand speed still mesmerising despite her 38 years.
Round four brought a definitive moment, as Taylor finished strong and dealt Serrano a gruesome cut over her right eye, a wound that was treated before round five. And still Serrano persisted with marching down her rival. She even shoved Taylor in the face to separate herself from one clinch, as Taylor began to lead with her head – a move that cost her a point in round eight.
In the sixth, the action was paused so that Serrano’s cut could be checked again. By this point, the wound had widened considerably, leaving a flap of skin hanging over Serrano’s eye, and blood dripping down her face and onto the canvas. The resumption of the round drew a huge reaction from the crowd, before Taylor impressed with her back-foot boxing.
There were more frantic scenes in round seven, as both women landed almost at will, one after the other. Each Serrano connection was greeted with piercing support from the floor and stands. It was as though victory for the bloody challenger would be complete defiance of what had previously seemed inevitable.
The eighth frame brought Taylor’s penalty, before the crowd booed when the big screens showed the graphic visuals of blood painting Serrano’s face. By the end of round nine, even Taylor’s face was awash with Serrano’s blood, and the round itself felt like a monument to Serrano’s defiance. She continued to fight on, memorably landing one combination after her head was jolted back by a clean cross.
The start of the final round was soundtracked by another swell of searing noise in Dallas, before both women unloaded in the most stupefying collisions yet. Neither boxer would be floored – somehow, neither boxer could be floored.
Then came the decision, as the crowd voiced spiky displeasure at Taylor’s unanimous-decision win. Truthfully, the fight could have gone either way. Regardless, it delivered what the best rematches deliver: a different storyline, but the same quality. Unfortunately for Serrano, it delivered the same result, too.
