Taylor holds off Serrano, retains crown in trilogy bout
The two fighters brought women's boxing to new heights through their fierce rivalry, and their fight on Friday drew a sell-out crowd at the world's most famous arena watched the Irishwoman just edge out her opponent.
The judges scored the fight 95-95, 97-93. 'What an amazing fighter,' Taylor said of her opponent after the bout. 'We're history makers forever.'
The pride of Puerto Rico, Serrano came out to plenty of support from her adopted hometown, with the New York Knicks dancers lining the walkway as she entered the arena.
Taylor, a 39-year-old Olympic gold medalist, walked to the ring expressionless, soaking in what many fans speculated could be her final professional fight.
Katie Taylor acknowledges fans. AFP
Both fighters took a cautious approach at the start, with only three punches connecting in the first round — a marked contrast to the eager attacks of their earlier meetings. The bout opened up in the third round, with Serrano unleashing a series of frantic blows, but she struggled to connect with the Irishwoman as the fight wore on.
The pair hugged immediately after the 10th round, neither knowing the outcome.
'I needed a lot of help down the home stretch today,' said Taylor. 'I just have a ton of respect for Amanda. She's just — what a warrior.'
Their first meeting at Madison Square Garden three years ago was billed as the biggest fight in women's boxing, as they were the first women to headline a fight at the arena.
Taylor triumphed by judges' decisions in their prior two meetings as well, including a controversial clash in November, where the referee docked Taylor a point for head butts.
Ireland's Katie Taylor (left) punches Puerto Rico's Amanda Serrano. AP
Irish and Puerto Rico flags were all over the arena and fans began loudly singing and dancing during the co-main event, while Alycia Baumgardner (16-1) was beating Jennifer Miranda (12-1) to retain her undisputed 130-pound titles as a countdown clock began showing the time remaining until the Taylor-Serrano fight.
There were 17 world titles from the four major sanctioning bodies on the line during the night in what 'Guinness World Records' said set the mark for most on a single fight card.
Shadasia Green (15-1) edged Savannah Marshall (13-2), whose only previous loss was to Claressa Shields, by split decision to unify super middleweight titles and earn a $250,000 bonus for the performance of the night.
In the final fight of the preliminary portion of the card, Australia's Cherneka Johnson (18-2, 8 KOs) pounded Shurretta Metcalf (14-5-1) until the fight was stopped in the ninth round to become the undisputed bantamweight champion.
Ellie Scotney (11-0) added a third super bantamweight belt to the two she already held with a unanimous decision victory over Yamileth Mercado (24-4).
Friday's fight on Netflix marked the streaming giant's latest foray into live sports, which experts say has driven subscriber growth after the debut of National Football League games late last year.
Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
3 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Chinese mountaineer dies on Pakistan's K2
A Chinese mountaineer died while descending the world's second-highest peak, with Pakistani rescuers waiting on Thursday for weather conditions to improve to recover her body. Guan Jing was descending from the summit of K2 on Tuesday night when she was hit by falling rocks, Deputy Commissioner for Shigar district Arif Ahmad told AFP. "An army aviation team is ready for the recovery of the body and is waiting for better weather conditions," he said. According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which monitors local climbing expeditions, Guan is the fourth casualty of the country's summer climbing season. Guan was among 30 climbers who reached the summit of K2 on Monday before beginning her fatal descent. "The incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route between Camp I and Advanced Base Camp - a section notorious for frequent rockfalls," the Alpine Club said. At 8,611 metres (28,251 feet), K2 on the Pakistan-China border sits 238 metres shy of world-topping Himalayan giant Everest but is considered more technically challenging. Home to five of the world's 14 mountains above 8,000 metres, Pakistan typically welcomes an influx of summer climbers from early June until late August. This season, four deaths have been reported, including two on K2, one on Nanga Parbat and one on the lesser-known Laila Peak in the Karakoram range where German Olympic biathlete Laura Dahlmeier died after being hit by falling rocks last month. Agence France-Presse
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Al Etihad
Italian athlete dies at World Games in China
12 Aug 2025 13:28 CHENGDU, China (AFP) Italian orienteering athlete Mattia Debertolis died on Tuesday after being found unresponsive during competition at the World Games in China's Chengdu, organisers said. The 29-year-old was discovered unconscious during an orienteering event on August 8 and died four days later, said a joint statement from World Games organisers and the International Orienteering Federation (IOF). The World Games is a multisport event held every four years for disciplines not included in the Olympics."Despite receiving immediate expert medical care at one of China's leading medical institutions, he passed away," the statement did not provide details on the cause of event took place in intense heat and humidity, with temperatures above 30 sees athletes navigate an unmarked course with a map and compass, punching in at designated spots along the route in the quickest from Primiero in eastern Italy, was taking part in the final of the men's middle-distance, the first medal event of the six-kilometre course featured 180 metres of ascent and 20 control points that athletes must from the World Games' social media accounts showed athletes running through crop fields and villages on a largely rural winner, Switzerland's Riccardo Rancan, completed the course in 45 minutes and 22 seconds."I needed to acclimatise quickly to hot and humid conditions. I think I managed quite well," Chinese state media quoted Rancan as was listed as "Did Not Finish" in official results, along with 11 other athletes. Black Armbands He was ranked 137th in the men's Orienteering World Rankings and had been competing since 2014, according to the IOF participated in several World Championships and World Cups as part of the Italian his training, Debertolis was studying for a PhD at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he of the Italian Orienteering Federation (FISO), Alfio Giomi, invited the national team to wear black armbands while competing in the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, which begin on Tuesday in family had agreed that "athletes will be able to participate in the competitions in Mattia's name and memory", Giomi said in an online Games organisers and the IOF were "struck by this tragedy and extend their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the athlete and the whole orienteering community", the joint statement read."Our thoughts are with those touched by this event."Organisers will "continue to support the family of Mattia Debertolis and the orienteering community in every possible way", it added. This is the 12th edition of the World Games, and it runs until August 17, with approximately 4,000 athletes competing in 253 events.
Al Etihad
3 days ago
- Al Etihad
India look to break 'final barrier' in Women's World Cup
11 Aug 2025 15:04 Mumbai (AFP)India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Monday said the team was determined to break the "final barrier" and lift their first Women's World Cup cricket title this year after missing out twice 13th edition of the women's showpiece 50-over tournament will begin on September 30, with co-hosts India set to face Sri Lanka in the opener in Indian women made it to two ODI World Cup finals but lost on both occasions -- going down to England by nine runs the last time around in 2017 at Lord' who made a valiant 51 runs in the final, will be leading India for the first time in the marquee tournament. "Playing in front of a home crowd is always special, and hopefully, this time we will give our 100 percent and finally break that barrier that all Indian fans are waiting for," Kaur said."World Cups are always special, and we always want to do something special" for the country, she said at an International Cricket Council event in India are fresh from a series win in England, where they beat the hosts 3-2 in T20 matches and 2-1 in three 50-overs games."(The confidence is) very high. The kind of cricket we've played over the last couple of years, gives us a lot of confidence," said the top-order opener Smriti Mandhana said the women's team has witnessed a change in mindset over the years."There's a calmness with which I want to go about on the field," said Mandhana at the event, which marked the 50-day countdown to the tournament."Our whole team is heading in that direction. We know where we want to work hard. And when we enter the field, we know we've just got to implement."Pakistan will play all their matches in Colombo as part of a compromise deal that allows both India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues in multi-nation tournaments. The final will be played on November 2 either in Bengaluru or Colombo, depending on whether Pakistan reach the title clash.
