By: Sean Crose
Their first fight was a war. Katie Taylor ended up winning a squeaker over Amanda Serrano, but the bout truly could have gone either way. That was back in 2022. Friday night at AT&T Stadium, Taylor and Serrano got it on for the second time as the co-main event of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul throwdown. It was a pairing worthy of the hype. At stake were Taylor’s numbers junior welterweight titles.
Taylor, 23-1, answered the opening bell looking sharp. Taylor was rocked by the 47-2 Serrano later in the round, however. She stayed on her feet, but Serrano had made quite a statement. Each fighter was able to land clean in a high octane second. The volume remained up to eleven in the third, though Serrano looked to be edging it. The fourth was a slugfest. What’s more, Serrano ended up with a cut. Still, Serrano was able to fight effectively in the fifth.
Serrano’s cut went from bad to very bad in the sixth. The referee wisely stopped the fight so the ring doctor could have a look. The doctor gave Serrano the go ahead, and the action continued. The seventh was ferocious…as in Hagler-Hearns first round ferocious. The eighth offered more of the same. It was an amazing fight. At the end of the round, the referee took a point from Taylor for butting.
Still, the ninth ended up being as exciting as the previous round. The tenth and final round was absolutely blistering. The fight, simply put, was an instant classic. Suffice to say, Taylor won by a very a controversial unanimous decision.
