Epic Taylor-Serrano trilogy ends in controversy with split decision
There was a mixed reaction to the controversial Taylor-Serrano trilogy showdown as both fighters banked mega pay days.
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Katie Taylor was too good for Amanda Serrano yet again as their epic trilogy bout came to an end with a controversial split decision in New York.
In an extremely tight contest, with both women leaving it all on the canvas, the Irishwoman claimed a majority decision 95-95, 97-93, 97-93, as The Sun reports.
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In front of a packed and raucous Madison Square Garden, and with an estimated 20 million people watching on Netflix, Taylor made it 3-0 in their rivalry with a split decision which saw one judge score it a draw.
The two stars earned an incredible $13.5 million each for headlining an all-women’s card that saw a world record 17 championship titles up for grabs.
Australian-based Cherneka ‘Sugar Neekz’ Johnson was part of the undercard, emerging as the new undisputed bantamweight world champion after defeating Shurretta Metcalf by TKO to claim the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO bantamweight belts.
The third Taylor-Serrano fight did not live up to the hype or action of the first two fights, but it was a more polished bout between the two superstars
Taylor, 39, admitted she was “a bit concerned” before the decision was announced, but felt she had done enough to win a third fight against the Puerto Rican.
“Yeah, I mean I don’t think anybody could deny that I won tonight so it was very, very satisfying,” she said.
“The other previous fights some people had her winning, some people had me winning, so there was always that debate and that’s why there was a trilogy at the end of the day.
“I was coming into this trilogy 2-0 against her but there was controversy in those decisions so I feel very satisfied that it was lights out and I feel like it was a very, very dominant performance.”
Taylor also said she adopted different tactics this time around.
“I thought I showed a very smart performance, a very cleaver performance. I knew I was capable of it against Amanda,” the now 25-1 fighter said.
“The two fights previous were complete wars and I came out of it battered and bruised and I’m thinking, why am I sitting there and fighting when I knew I was capable of moving my legs and outboxing her.
“I was just happy I was able to produce that tonight and execute the game plan.”
Taylor wasn’t sure if this was her left performance in the ring.
“I wouldn’t say I have anything left to prove,” she said.
“But I’m going to sit back and relax and like I say I will make a decision on whether I will fight again.”
Some of those watching on lamented the lack of scoring punches from the two fighters and that was reflected in the stats.
Serrano threw a huge volume of jabs in the contest, but they were very inaccurate.
The losing fighter landed just 9.67 per cent of her 217 jabs thrown and 18.32 per cent overall.
Taylor, meanwhile, landed the same number of total punches as Serrano – 70 – but threw 151 fewer punches.
Her accuracy was a much more respectable 30.3 per cent.
The two boxers showed great respect for each other after another bruising contest, with
Serrano believing she had won the fight.
“We tried something different, it was all about working smarter, not harder,” Serrano said in the ring after the fight.
“I tried to keep my distance because apparently it didn’t worth the first two fights. So we tried to stick with the long punches and it just wasn’t enough.
“I don’t know, I have to go back and watch it. My team told me they think I won, I’m going to believe what they tell me.
“I was really trying to apply what they were telling me.”
Full list of results:
Katie Taylor beat Amanda Serrano by majority decision – IBF, WBC, WBO super-lightweight titles
Alycia Baumgardner beat Jennifer Miranda by unanimous decision – IBF, WBC, WBO super-featherweight titles
Shadasia Green beat Savannah Marshall by split decision – IBF, WBO super-middleweight titles
Ellie Scotney beat Yamileth Mercardo by unanimous decision – IBF, WBC, WBO super-bantamweight titles
Cherneka Johnson beat Shurretta Metcalf by ninth-round TKO – IBF, WBC, WBO bantamweight titles
Chantelle Cameron beat Jessica Camara by unanimous decision
Ramla Ali beat Lila Furtado by unanimous decision
Tamm Thibeault beat Mary Casamassa by fifth-round TKO
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Epic Taylor-Serrano trilogy ends in controversy with split decision
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