AND STILL: Katie Taylor defeats Amanda Serrano in controversial Mike Tyson v Jake Paul co-headline

Katie Taylor remains the undisputed light welterweight champion of the world following ANOTHER insane fight with Amanda Serrano.

Chief support (or ‘co-main) to the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul freakshow at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Taylor squeaked out a unanimous, albeit controversial, win by the narrowest of margins.

Hurt in the first round and suffering a point deduction in the eighth round, Taylor rode her luck but her grit and quality combinations gave her the edge – by a head – in an even closer fight than their previous meeting.

A decision that is already being heavily debated, this may end up being chapter two of a trilogy.

The pair had made history in April 2022 with a sell-out Madison Square Garden slugfest. This famous New York night saw Taylor rebound from a torrid fifth round to squeeze out a deserved split-decision over her long-time rival. 

A Croke Park rematch would inevitably fall by the wayside and Taylor, following a routine win over Karen Elizabeth Carabajal, traded victories with Chantelle Cameron in Dublin to become a two-weight undisputed champion. 

Serrano, meanwhile, has been busy, with five fights in the same period. She became undisputed herself at featherweight and most recently, in July, blasted out the overmatched Stevie Morgan inside two rounds.

This Morgan match-up occurred following the postponement of her and Taylor’s initial rematch date after the definitely-fit-to-box Tyson was forced to pull out of the main event with a stomach ulcer.

Taylor elected against such a keep-busy and entered tonight almost one year on since the sensational Cameron revenge win – the longest ring hiatus of her career.

Ahead of the Cameron rematch – and, indeed, ahead of the first Cameron fight and ahead of the first Serrano fight – there was a feeling that Taylor was increasingly past her peak and there have been not-too-hushed calls for her to consider retirement.

Now 38, and despite arguably a career-best performance in the Cameron repeat, this talk remained and that’s without mentioning the general unease felt by many as Taylor entered the away corner for the first time in her professional boxing life – but this would again all prove unfounded.

Taylor, who was paid $6 million for tonight’s outing, was criticised by some for appearing on the bill, with it being said that she and Serranoarguably ‘legitimised’ the main event. Despite the background noise, Taylor largely managed to avoid the stink during a bizarre week in Texas and again was one half of a fight that represented boxing at its absolute best.

Whatever percentage of Netflix’s 280,000,000 subscribers that were tuned in to these 20 minutes of action were treated to a war with flashes of brilliance and drama aplenty along with some questionable commentary, and a dollop of controversy for good measure.

Cagey to start, Taylor’s handspeed saw her poke at Serrano while the powerful southpaw looked to land the big backhand. Always dangerous, Serrano made an early breakthrough, stunning Taylor at the close, stiffening the champion’s legs badly 0 five rounds earlier than she had in New York.

Recovering well, Taylor stepped up her activity levels in the second, landing combinations but the punches of Serrano continued to land heavily, if less frequently.

Bringing the check-hook into play, Taylor enjoyed a good third, boxing smart and countering well.

Both scaled 137.4lbs at yesterday’s weigh-in for the 138lbs catchweight bout but Serrano had an obvious and major advantage in power. Forcing the brave Bray boxer to trade in the fourth, Serrano inflicted heavy damage but was cut herself on her right brow following a head clash.

The highest-quality shots were the sharp counters of Taylor who landed plenty in the fifth against the bull-rushing Serrano.

With the intensity rising, another accidental clash of heads saw the gash over Serrano’s eye open further. Furious trainer Jordan Maldonado demanded for referee John Shorley to halt the fight at the close of the sixth – which would send the bout to the cards for a technical decision – but this call thankfully fell on deaf ears.

A fire lit under her, Serrano dragged Taylor into a war in round seven, landing heavily but Taylor was no longer budging and traded back with her own heavy combinations in between the Puerto Rican’s barrages.

Precise and accurate left hooks at the start of the eighth did damage for Taylor but it would prove to be a disastrous round. Warned severely for use of the head, the Irishwoman was docked at the close as the skulls came together again

Needing a huge finish, it was Taylor who was marching forward in the penultimate round, pushing a tiring Serrano back and she continued this strong finish in a furious tenth, arguably the best of all twenty rounds shared between the pair.

The flurries of Taylor had Serrano stunned early but the New Yorker fought back like a champion

Going to the cards after a razor-tight bout, the judges’s scores all read 95-94 but fears of a decision favouring the ‘house’ fighter did not come to fruition as Taylor was confirmed the winner.

The decision, which was greeted by a smattering of boos, sees Taylor improve her record to 24(6)-1(0), while Serrano drops to 47(31)-3(0)-1.

Speaking afterwards, Taylor suggested a third fight and, for the first time, a twelve-by-three-minute-rounds contest. Meanwhile, in keeping with the event, a ranting Maldonado called for Taylor to step into the octagon for a mixed martial arts showdown.

Boxing, eh?