2 days ago
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano's trilogy now rivals any in boxing history
It was the closest of fights but Irish boxing legend Katie Taylor narrowly defeated Amanda Serrano for a third time to etch herself into history as the greatest female fighter of all-time.
The mega-night at Madison Square Garden, which was headlined by Taylor and Serrano, delivered in the early hours of Saturday morning as the former reaffirmed herself as an extraordinary champion.
The battles between these two greats now rival the best men's trilogies, whether it be Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier, Eric Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera or Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward.
All three, 10-round contests have gone to Taylor yet they were so close and all could have been scored to Serrano.
While this contest did not ignite in the flurries of fists witnessed in the first two fights, the tension was just as high as Serrano – a champion in seven weight divisions – sought redemption against her nemesis Taylor, a two-weight division, undisputed champion and an Olympic gold medallist.
The third chapter between them was more focused on evasion with fewer punches thrown. It was tactical and razor-tight, round after round, with the two-minute periods speeding through.
Taylor, at 39 years young, and Serrano, 36, belied their ages with their fitness and desire. But Serrano's decision to be more passive than in the first two fights played into Taylor's hands and the judges scored it by majority decision to Taylor.
For the record, like one of the judges, I scored the contest 95-95, but the other two judges scored it 97-93 in Taylor's favour.
Never let it be said that women's boxing cannot draw a crowd or the world's attention. It was a night of pomp and pageantry in Manhattan's great hall, packed with 20,000 partisan fans of the Irish and Puerto Rican warriors.
Plaudits must go to Jake Paul, often the villain, but a women's boxing advocate who underwrote and promoted the event with aplomb on Netflix, ensuring another huge audience. The previous Taylor-Serrano bout drew a TV audience of 65 million as the chief support to Paul's fight against Mike Tyson.
The three fights between Taylor and Serrano have brought together the two greatest fighters from an era in which women's boxing has grown hugely. A groundbreaking night featured the largest purses in the history of women's boxing and six world championship fights on the all-women, eight-fight card, with victories for Britons Chantelle Cameron, Ramla Ali and super-bantamweight world champion Ellie Scotney.
