Katie Taylor maintained her undisputed super-lightweight world championship on Friday night after she triumphed over Amanda Serrano by majority decision at Madison Square Garden.
The fight heralds the likely end of what will be remembered as one of boxing’s most vicious rivalries. This pair shared two contentious yet thrilling bouts over the past three years - both ended in split decisions and carried controversial fouls and curt words behind the scenes.
The trilogy affair was no different, though the action on the canvas was much changed.
Taylor stood to complete her hat-trick tonight on return to the cathedral of boxing, and triumphed by a painfully narrow margin in the third bout - one judge read the fight as a draw, while two others leaned in favour of Taylor.
For all the build-up, the fight was something of a slow burn. From the first bell, neither seemed overly willing to take the offensive initiative. Serrano worked the territory well through the early rounds, but Taylor coped well in the tight spaces she was forced into.
Where previous fights in this series had been about frenetic energy and quantity of blows rather than quality, this one was about strategy and patience.
The final round, though, gave a flash of the energy and power of those fights of yesteryear. Both fighters had been instructed to make a final round statement, and both obeyed, landing a frenzied flurry of blows as they looked to exact some slight advantage.
They ultimately came out even, though, completing the exact same number of punches, leaving the decision to the panel, who ruled in favour of Taylor, much to the dismay of the countless Puerto Rican supporters in the arena backing Serrano.
“I tried something different, it was about working smarter, not harder,” said Serrano. “I tried to keep my distance, try not to go in there and fight with her because that didn't work the first two fights, so we try to stick with the long punches. I guess it wasn't enough.”
Disappointed though she was with the result, she was proud to have ‘made history’ at Madison Square Garden - again.
Addressing the crowd, she said: “I want to thank every one of you for coming out and supporting women's boxing. It was truly an amazing night for all of us women. You changed my life.
“Thank you to Netflix for allowing us women to showcase our skills, to showcase that we are warriors, we can fight, and we look good doing it. We did it. we made history once again.”
Also fighting for an undisputed title were super-featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner little-known Spanish challenger and Money Heist star Jennifer Miranda.
It was pitched as a straightforward bout for the Ohio-born orthodox bruiser, but the 38-year-old Miranda announced herself to the international boxing scene with her scrappy approach, matching Baumgartner blow for blow through the closing stages. The unanimous decision in favour of Baumgartner felt slightly unjust.
“It wasn’t my best performance,” Baumgartner admitted after the fact, lauding the ‘smart’ Miranda after she was humbled somewhat by the affair.
Theirs was not the only judging decision of the evening worthy of debate. Savannah Marshall of Hartlepool was not pleased with their call as she lost to Shadasia Green by split decision.
The momentum of their unified super-middleweight bout swung repeatedly and the result could have gone either way after round 10, but Marshall of Hartlepool was ultimately undone by a one-point deduction.
“How is that fair?” she asked, bemused by the decision. Opposite her, though, Green broke down as her right hand was held aloft, securing a title two years in the making. “20 years later, we unified. I am overwhelmed. These guys pushed me to my limit this camp. I got beat up every day in sparring and I know it was worth it because Savannah Marshall... is f****** phenomenal.”
Catford-born Ellie Scotney was head and shoulders above Yamileth Mercado as she clinched the unified world super-bantamweight title. She was composed through the opening rounds but pulled ahead at the halfway stage, drawing a considerable gash above the Mexican’s right eyebrow. Mercado was desperate to swing the momentum back in her favor late on as she swung for the fences, but Scotney saw the affair out to secure a comfortable win.
On the preliminary undercard, Chantelle Cameron of Northampton maintained her WBC interim super-lightweight title by decision after battering Jessica Camara.
Cherneka Johnson became undisputed world bantamweight champion as her fight against Shuretta Metcalf was stopped by the ringside doctor after eight rounds, much to the Texan’s chagrin.
