Katie Taylor beats Amanda Serrano in third meeting to retain undisputed title
Katie Taylor retained her undisputed world super lightweight title after edging her third fight against Amanda Serrano in New York.
The Bray fighter, who had won the previous two meetings, won on a majority decision at Madison Square Garden, with two of the judges scoring the bout 97-93 in Taylor’s favour.
The third judge was unable to split them after 10 tight rounds, scoring it 95-95.
Taylor ruled out a fourth meeting with the Puerto Rican, but was cagey when asked whether she would continue to fight.
“I don’t know, I just don’t want to fight Amanda Serrano again. She punches too hard,” she said after the bout.
“I have a huge ton of respect for Amanda, she’s such a warrior. It’s a pleasure to share a ring with her.
“We have made history three times. We are history makers forever.
“I thought I was boxing very smart, she wasn’t able to catch me very much tonight. But it’s always close against Amanda.”
Serrano, who has suffered three of her four professional losses to Taylor, said she had tried to work “smarter not harder”.
“We tried to stay with the long punches and one twos, and it just wasn’t enough,” she said.
The third meeting between the two was cagier than their previous clashes, simmering throughout with much fewer punches landed.
Neither fighter was able to impose themselves early on, with just three punches connecting in the opening round.
With both fighters operating from more of a distance than their previous meetings, Taylor looked to control the centre of the ring and landed some good counter shots as she drew Serrano onto her.
Several rounds could have gone either way as the fight built to a tense climax, Serrano coming forward more and forcing Taylor into a corner in the fifth round, but the champion fought her way out.
Taylor was marked under the right eye in the eighth, but edged the final two rounds to secure the verdict.
Ellie Scotney ended Mexican Yamileth Mercado’s six-year reign as WBC super bantamweight world champion with a unanimous verdict.
The 27-year-old from Catford added the WBC title to her IBF and WBO crowns with a 100-90, 98-82 and 98-82 decision.
Savannah Marshall was left disappointed as she lost a tight battle for the IBF and WBO super middleweight titles to American Shadasia Green on a split decision.
One judge awarded the fight 96-93 to Marshall, who was returning to the ring after a two-year absence, but Green was awarded the verdict 95-94 and 96-93 by the other judges, despite a point deduction for holding.
England’s Chantelle Cameron, a former two-weight world champion, had a unanimous points decision over Jessica Camara, while Ramla Ali returned to the ring after a year out with a tighter unanimous verdict over Lila Furtado.
In the co-headline bout, American Alycia Baumgardner retained her undisputed super featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Spain’s Jennifer Miranda.
