By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside
Super lightweight champion Katie Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) out of Ireland went toe-to-toe with her Puerto Rican nemesis Amanda Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs) once again over ten brutal rounds and escaped the Lone Star State with a unanimous decision to retain her WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and Ring belts in another instant classic. Taylor barely beat Serrano via split decision in their 2022 fight of the year at Madison Square Garden.
In a continuation of their last fight, Serrano and Taylor went right to work. Serrano, a southpaw, showed off her blazing speed early and went right after Taylor and connected a left hook on the jaw at the end of the round. Taylor landed power right hands in round two and both exchanged blows in round three.
The fight turned in round four when referee Jon Schorle warned Taylor for a head but that left a big gash over Serrano’s right eye. In round six, Taylor landed another head butt that forced Schorle to stop the fight and call in the doctor as the cut grotesquely opened up even more. To the surprise of everyone in attendance, the fight was allowed to continue.
Serrano came out with a sense of urgency in round seven and flew at Taylor where she landed multiple combos to the head and body of Taylor, however the champ responded with solid counter shots of her own and ended the round strong. Referee Jon Schorle warned Taylor of another head butt in round eight and at this time deducted a point from the champ. With blood streaming down her face, Serrano showed her warrior spirit and kept coming forward to engage Taylor. Rounds nine and ten were an all-out war as each went for the knockout to no avail.
In the end, Taylor earned another controversial victory over Serrano which begs the question on whether they will run it back once again. Before those talks happen, Serrano, 36, will need some time to let her massive cut heal but if it does properly, you can expect another potential fight of the year and a trilogy for the ages. Taylor, now 38, may see this as her crowning moment in front of a packed house at AT&T Stadium and live on Netflix worldwide and decided to hang up the gloves. Time will tell for both legends and future first ballot hall of famers.
