Minutes after exchanging blows during a weak fest in the last round, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano embraced the moment.
With most of the sold-out crowd watching the first women’s boxing match at Madison Square Garden still standing, Serrano made the announcement.
“Women can sell, women can fight and we do a hell of a show,” Serrano said.
All three were true on a historic evening in women’s boxing.
Taylor remained the undisputed lightweight champion in an exciting battle, ahead of Serrano by split split on Saturday.
In the same arena where Joe Fraser and Mohamed Ali fought in the Battle of the Century in 1971, Taylor and Serrano made sure they were not soon forgotten in Madison Square Garden.
“People will absolutely talk about me and Amanda Serrano for years and years to come,” Taylor said.
Katie Taylor celebrates with manager Brian Peters (left) and coach Ross Enamight after her victory over Amanda Serrano. AFP via Getty Images
Both fighters were cut off as they fit into very powerful exchanges during the two-minute rounds – one shorter than the men’s. In the end, Taylor did a little more to stay undefeated in front of the announced sold-out audience of 19,187, which seemed to be torn between Taylor’s Irish fans and Serrano’s Puerto Rican fans.
When he finished, Taylor appeared 96-93 and 97-93 on two of the judges’ cards, while Serrano won 96-94 on the other.
The Associated Press scored 96-94 for Taylor.
Taylor (21-0) shook and her face was bloodied in the fifth round, but she hung tight and found the range of her right arm with excellent counterattacks.
Serrano (42-2-1), a seven-division champion who climbed two weight categories for this battle, lost for the first time since 2012.
The fight, which the organizers point out as the most significant ever in women’s boxing, can certainly take its place among the best, the two longtime champions left the audience standing and screaming delicately as they struck hard blows that seemed to last almost the entire 10th round.
Taylor took it out, winning the last four rounds on the cards of both Guido Cavaleri and Glen Feldman.
Taylor defended his four titles for the sixth time after being the undisputed champion with 135 pounds after a victory in Madison Square Garden in 2019 in the undercard of Andy Ruiz’s disappointment against Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight title match.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist was the main event this time and fans seemed to like him every minute of it.
“Certainly tonight was absolutely the best night of my career,” said Taylor, ranking her before winning the gold medal match.
The organizers planned a capacity of about 10,000 seats, but had to provide more when all were sold, eventually opening the arena completely. The arena and the surrounding area had the feel of an Olympics, with fans carrying Puerto Rican and Irish flags, green, visible throughout the arena and chanting all night.
Serrano, who lives in New York, is dancing around the ring with his hands up after entering with Jake Paul, the former YouTube star, who quickly raised his account and salary when he started promoting it and fighting in his undercards. .
“I was told to enjoy every minute and I did,” Serrano said.
Maybe they will do it again. Both sides talked about a rematch, maybe next time in Ireland.
Serrano’s southern paw kept coming forward and finding some holes for his left side, but Taylor countered well and got some good rights in the third – although he made a good shot after the end when the fighters and the referee did not hear the bell over the audience and Serrano struck.
Taylor returned immediately and put Serrano back in the corner in the final seconds of the fourth and the battle continued in a similar way, Serrano threw quick combinations, but Taylor landed in return to stop her momentum. .
The crowd roared as they exchanged blows during a long exchange in the corner of the heel, but Serrano managed and Taylor’s face was bloodied at the end of the round. But she returned immediately with a good job in the sixth.
The women’s super middleweight also now has an undisputed champion, after Franchón Crews-Dezurn bled and defeated Elin Sederoos of Sweden by unanimous decision. Cruz-Desourne (8-1) added the IBF and WBA titles to the two he already held, giving Sederoos (8-1) his first loss.
Former 154-pound champion Liam Smith (31-3-1 18 KOs) then defeated Jesse Vargas (29-4-2) before stopping him in the 10th round.
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