Katie Taylor beat Amanda Serrano for a second time and left her fierce rival with a horror eye injury to defend her light-welterweight titles before the controversial fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
Billed as the co-main event, many within boxing felt Taylor and Serrano were worthy of headlining this unprecedented Netflix show at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
The pair shared a thrilling clash at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in May 2022, Taylor securing a narrow win on points in a fight that is regarded as the greatest in the history of women’s boxing.
The rematch did not disappoint, two titans of women’s sport trading blows throughout and Taylor winning 95-94 on all three scorecards despite losing a point for a headbutt.
The crowd inside the stadium were mesmerised by an entertaining and explosive fight but were furious with the decision which will no doubt prove controversial.
Taylor’s win sees defend her WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO light-welterweight titles, as well as the Ring Magazine belt.
At 38, every fight feels hugely significant for Taylor but defeat here in Dallas would undoubtedly have led to an epic trilogy fight, with Dublin’s Croke Park previously mentioned as a possible venue. Given the nature of the first two fights, maybe that is still a possibility.
Taylor and Serrano shared a classic when they first met in New York back in 2022, with the former edging her way to a split-decision points win.
It was the first time two females had headlined Madison Square Garden and saw both earn more than £1m. They pocketed even more for the rematch in Dallas.
Since that epic Taylor suffered the first defeat of her professional career – losing on points to Chantelle Cameron – but she put things right when the duo met in November last year.
Taylor, a former Olympic champion, is regarded as one of the best female fighters in history and has been credited with helping to change opinions on female boxing over the past decade.
Serrano, meanwhile, who has won world titles in an astonishing seven divisions, bounced back from just her second pro defeat with five wins on the bounce, most recently stopping Stevie Morgan in July.
Speaking to Metro and other publications during fight week, Netflix chief Brandon Riegg insisted Taylor vs Serrano 2 was on ‘equal standing’ to Paul vs Tyson.
‘I would argue there’s not been a bigger platform for two female fighters,’ he said. ‘This is not behind a pay-per-view wall, it’s on Netflix, and we’re billing it as the co-main event. I see it as equal to the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight.’
Netflix were right to be exciting by the potential of Taylor vs Serrano 2. It was an action-packed war between two warriors.
Taylor made a composed start, showing her notorious agile movement and jabbing away at Serrano, but the crowd favourite finished the round on top, Serrano’s impressive power sending Taylor flying into the ropes on the stroke of the bell.
Taylor responded superbly in the second, landing multiple punches to her opponent’s head, which was already showing some damage at this early stage.
Both fighters were feeling each other out in the third but the fourth was dramatic from the first second to the last, both enjoying success and earning wild cheers from the 70,000 fans inside the AT&T.
A more sedate fifth was almost a relief and the sixth was halted while Serrano received medical treatment for a gruesome eye injury, seemingly suffered during a clash of heads earlier in the fight.
The gruesome eye injury drew gasps from the captivated crowd and the noise only grew as Taylor began to land regular blows, though Serrano also came back with some herself late in the seventh.
Serrano looked battered and bruised during the eighth but at least saw her rival docked a point for a headbutt, the crowd making it known that they agreed with the call.
The ninth was another absolute slugfest, both fighters throwing serious punches despite noticeably tiring, and they were somehow not only still standing but pushing for the KO in the final seconds of an extraordinary fight.
The judges’ scorecards did not prove popular with the fans inside the stadium – boos drowned out both post-fight interviews – but Taylor did not seem overly bothered as she celebrates another huge win and travels back to Ireland with her belts intact.
A triumphant Taylor said: ‘It’s obviously very hard to tell during the fight, I knew it was an absolute slugfest in there, an absolute war.
‘Congrats to Amanda she’s a fantastic champion. The triple is on. We train for these moments. She’s a hard puncher, a tough warrior but I am prepared for that.
‘I don’t care if the commentary team on the crowd disagree with the result, all that matters is the judges around the ring.
‘I definitely didn’t agree with the point deduction… I certainly wasn’t fighting dirty, sometimes it just gets rough in there. You have to prepare for those moments.’
Beaten fighter Serrano, meanwhile, said: ‘I knew when I saw those judges it was going to be shady but I came here, I chose to be great, I came up three divisions.
‘It is what it is. Every time you get a cut it bothers you, you get a cut in your eye it hurts, she kept headbutting me. But we know that.
‘It’s not only my fight she did it with, we’ve seen that. But I’m going to die in this ring no matter how many cuts I have on my face, I go to the very end.
‘I think 100 per cent [the headbutts were intentional] because she does it in every fight. My first cut ever was with Katie Taylor.’
Serrano’s trainer Jordan Maldonado, meanwhile, joked they would happily take a third fight against Taylor ‘if headbutting is not included and we get a fair referee’.
‘If you look at Katie Taylor’s fights you will see a lot of her opponents have gone out with grotesque swelling in the head,’ he said.
‘So it’s what they do. Katie is a beautiful person but has an extremely huge head.’
.
.