Headbutt controversy rocks Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano fight

Headbutts and a shock result have rocked the co-main event ahead of Mike Tyson’s return to the ring against Jake Paul.

Headbutts and a wildly controversial decision have marred Katie Taylor’s victory over Amanda Serrano in the co-main event of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul event.

The two greats of female boxing fought a rematch after Taylor shaded the first fight at Madison Square Garden.

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In the final bout before Tyson and Paul make their walks to the ring, everybody watching on was convinced Serrano had done enough to win.

Irishwoman Taylor was also deducted a point and accused of a number of illegal headbutts.

So there was a stunned reaction when the scorecards were read out and Taylor claimed a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 95-94 for the titleholder.

“Texas has always been a cauldron of controversy,” commentator Mauro Ranallo said.

“You can’t take anything away from Katie Taylor and her legacy, but my god, how does one rob Amanda Serrano after a performance like that?”

Irish boxer Katie Taylor (left) was accused of headbutts against Amanda Serrano. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP)

Serrano landed by far the most punches. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images via AFP)

The stats were all in favour of the Puerto Rican fighter, with Serrano throwing 734 punches to 529, landing 324 to Taylor’s 217, with a 44 per cent landing percentage to 41.

Taylor was asked about the result and the headbutt accusation after the fight, as the crowd booed the decision.

“I definitely don’t agree with the point deduction,” she said. “I certainly wasn’t fighting dirty.

“Sometimes it gets rough in there and you have to prepare for those moments.

“We put on a show for everybody.”

Serrano, who had a bad cut over her eye, had a simple response to the headbutt accusation, stating: “She does it in every fight.”

Fans on social media were stunned the fight even went the distance, considering Taylor’s approach.

One boxing fan wrote on X: “I genuinely have no idea how Katie Taylor hasn’t been disqualified, 4 times I’ve seen her headbutt now and Serrano’s eye is absolutely f**ked because of it, the cut itself is bad enough to call the fight off for … Shambolic refereeing.”

The crowd was stunned when Taylor was awarded the fight. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Another wrote: “These headbutts are ridiculous by Katie Taylor. Fighting mad dirty.”

A third added: “Ref cheating Serrano letting Taylor get away with the headbutts.”

A fourth offered: “It’s driving me insane the way Taylor keeps pushing her head into Serrano’s cut and the ref’s doing nothing about it.

“It’s even worse when the cut was caused by a headbutt.”

Another took aim at the referee, tweeting: “This referee is so bad. Needs to be fired. How can he not deduct points for all the headbutts?”

Taylor had the last word as she retained the world championship belts.

“It’s obviously very hard to tell during the fight, it’s a war and thank god I won this fight,” she said.

“I don’t care if the commentary team or the crowd disagree with the result.

“It’s down to the judges around the ring and I’m so proud.”

Next up is the main event, with the crowd massively in favour of Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.