Taylor Defeats Serrano in First Women’s Boxing Match to Headline Madison Square Garden | CBC Sports

“Women can sell, women can fight and we put on a great show,” Serrano said.

Taylor held on as the undisputed lightweight champion in a thrilling fight, beating Serrano in a split decision on Saturday.

In the same arena where Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali fought the “Fight of the Century” in 1971, Taylor and Serrano made sure they weren’t soon forgotten at Madison Square Garden.

“People will absolutely be talking about me and Amanda Serrano for years to come,” Taylor said.

Both fighters were cut, as they engaged in many powerful exchanges during the two-minute rounds, one shorter than the men’s. In the end, Taylor did a bit more to stay undefeated in front of an advertised sold-out crowd of 19,187 that seemed to be split between Taylor’s Irish and Serrano’s Puerto Rican fans.

When it was over, Taylor came out with scores of 96-93 and 97-93 on two of the judges’ scorecards, while Serrano won 96-94 on the other.

The Associated Press scored it 96-94 for Taylor.

Taylor (21-0) stumbled and his face was bloody in the fifth round, but he hung on strong and found the range in his right hand with excellent counterpunching.

Serrano (42-2-1), a seven-division champion who moved up two weight divisions for this fight, lost for the first time since 2012.

A fight that organizers touted as the biggest in women’s boxing can certainly take its place among the best, the two longtime champions leaving the crowd on their feet and screaming deliriously as they fired power shots that seemed to last almost the entire tenth. assault.

‘For sure tonight was absolutely the best night of my career’

Taylor did it by winning the last four rounds on cards from Guido Cavalleri and Glenn Feldman.

Taylor defended all four of her titles for the sixth time, having been the undisputed 135-pound champion since a win at Madison Square Garden in 2019 on the undercard of Andy Ruiz’s win over Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight title fight.

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist was the main event this time around and the fans seemed to love every minute of it.

“Tonight was absolutely the best night of my career for sure,” Taylor said, ranking her ahead of victory in the gold medal match.

Organizers planned for a capacity of around 10,000 seats, but had to make more available when they were all sold out, eventually opening the arena up completely. The arena and surrounding area had an Olympics feel, with fans carrying Puerto Rican and Irish flags, green visible throughout the arena, and chants erupting throughout the night.

Serrano, who lives in New York, danced around the ring with his arms raised after walking in with Jake Paul, the former YouTube star who quickly raised his profile and pay scale when he began promoting her and having her fight on his cards.

“They told me to enjoy every minute and that’s what I did,” Serrano said.

possible revenge

Maybe they will do it again. Both sides talked of a rematch, perhaps next time in Ireland.

The southpaw Serrano stepped up steadily and found some openings for her left, but Taylor responded well and landed some nice right hands in the third, though she did take a nice shot after it was over when the bell over the crowd was not heard by the fighters and the referee. and Serrano landed a punch.

The crowd roared as they traded blows during a lengthy exchange in the corner in the fifth, but Serrano got the better of him and Taylor’s face was bloody by the end of the round. But she came back with a good job in the sixth.

The women’s super middleweight division also now has an undisputed champion after Franchon Crews-Dezurn bled and defeated Elin Cederroos of Sweden by unanimous decision. Crews-Dezurn (8-1) added the IBF and WBA titles to the two she already held by handing Cederroos (8-1) her first loss.

Then former 154-pound champion Liam Smith (31-3-1, 18 KOs) beat Jesse Vargas (29-4-2) before stopping him in the 10th round.