The fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano lived up to its billing — and the size of its official crowd.
Madison Square Garden was rocking in front of a sold-out listed crowd of 19,187 on Saturday night as the fight went the distance, with both Taylor and Serrano throwing hands and thrilling fans right up to the final bell. In the end, Taylor retained her undisputed lightweight championship with a 97-93, 96-93, 94-96 split decision. The fight went back and forth over 10 rounds, with Serrano controlling some of the earlier exchanges but Taylor winning out in the end. The win moves Taylor to 21-0 all time, while Serrano suffers only the second loss of her career at 42-2-1.
Earlier in the night, Liam Smith defeated Jessie Vargas by 10th-round TKO, Franchon Crews-Dezurn unified all four major women’s super middleweight world titles with a unanimous decision over Elin Cederroos and Galal Yafai stopped Miguel Cartagena in the second round.
The main card fight provoked several reactions on social media, with luminaries like Conor McGregor, Teddy Atlas and Rosie Perez raving over the quality of both Taylor’s and Serrano’s talent.
