ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Katie Taylor retained her unanimous super lightweight championship with another disputed decision over Amanda Serrano on Friday night in a slugfest remarkably similar to the original two years ago.
Taylor was scored a 95-94 winner by all three judges, drawing boos from the crowd at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys before the co-main event of Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.
The 38-year-old from Ireland remained the undisputed champion and in the super lightweight and lightweight divisions. It was the third victory since the first professional loss for Taylor (24-1, six knockouts).
Serrano, who kept punching despite getting a nasty cut over her left eye in the sixth round, was the crowd favorite much the same way she was in the other disputed decision at Madison Square Garden in 2022.
In that sold-out slugfest, they were the first women headlining a combat sports event at the storied venue. The 36-year-old Serrano, a seven-division champion, is 47-3-1 with 31 knockouts.
It might have started a little more slowly than the New York meeting, but things changed when Serrano sustained the nasty cut, which forced the referee to call a timeout in the middle of the sixth round.
Serrano never stopped punching, though, and appeared to have Taylor teetering as the final seconds ticked away in the 10th round.
Taylor was deducted a point for head-butting in the eighth round.
Taylor was fighting for the first time since avenging her only professional loss by beating Chantelle Cameron for the undisputed super lightweight title in a rematch in her home country a year ago.
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