NEW YORK – Katie Taylor once again prevailed in a hellacious test at the highest level.

The two-division and defending undisputed lightweight champion from Bray, Ireland turned away a determined Amanda Serrano to earn a split decision victory in a pound-for-pound showdown that somehow surpassed exceedingly high expectations and will forever leave its imprint on the sport.

Judge Benoit Roussell (96-94) had Serrano ahead, overruled by judges Glenn Feldman (97-93) and Guido Cavalleri (96-93), who saw Taylor doing enough to retain her crown in the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“[Saturday] was fantastic, I had to dig deep in there and produce a career-defining performance,” Taylor told BoxingScene.com after her biggest win to date in a boxing lifetime filled with watershed moments. “Amanda is an amazing champion as well. But I’m a fighter. We got the best out of each other.”

Press coverage was unprecedented for the historic event which aired live on DAZN, with Taylor and Serrano both prepared to live up to the moment. What transpired was the sport’s best performing at the highest level in the leading candidate for 2022 Fight of the Year—regardless of gender.

Taylor utilized lateral movement to stay just outside of Serrano’s right hook and sweeping left hand in the opening round. The defending champ drew a rise out of the sellout crowd of 19,187 anytime she threw a punch, even though most fell short of the target for both fighters. Taylor connected with a right hand that Serrano shook off, missing with a straight left but having the awareness to slip a counter right.

Serrano played the role of stalker in round two, not always finding the mark but slowly making the ring a smaller place for the more mobile Taylor. The action made its way to the ropes, but Serrano was unable to make her pay after missing with a left to the body.

The Brooklyn-bred Puerto Rican southpaw landed the more telling blows in round three, with Taylor relying on her granite chin on the occasions her stellar defense couldn’t avoid the incoming. Taylor was able to return to boxing in round four, relying on infighting skills to avoid Serrano’s superior workrate.

A massive shift in momentum came in round five, with Serrano in her truest form. The 13-year-pro unloaded for 44-of-114 total punches in just two minutes, repeatedly snapping back the head of Taylor while also drawing blood from the champion’s nose. Serrano remained on the hunt in search of her first knockout in more than a year, though Taylor managed to survive her worst round of the fight.

“Katie Taylor is a tough fighter, she’s a natural 135-pounder,” acknowledged Serrano, the WBC/WBO featherweight champ who fought for the second at lightweight which is essentially her walk-around weight. “I went up two divisions to fight Katie Taylor. She’s a strong champion, a warrior. She’s Irish and she was able to withstand the power and come back.”

Serrano continued to apply relentless pressure in round six, targeting the body before back upstairs with her rapid-fire jab and straight left hand. Taylor punched her way back into the fight after connecting with a right hand, drawing the Irish faithful out of their seats and creating a deafening atmosphere to where referee Michael Griffin couldn’t even hear the bell to end the round.

Taylor appeared to deliberately slow down in round seven, perhaps saving herself for a strong finish. Serrano was unable to fully take advantage, allowing Taylor to stick and move without letting her hands go in comparison to her normally high-octane punch output.

The decision to leave something in the reserve reaped dividends for Taylor in rounds eight and nine. Serrano worked her way inside, but often found herself countered by Taylor right hands.

Chants of “KATIE” filled MSG at start of round nine, though it was Serrano who was getting the better of the exchanges in the opening stage of the frame. Taylor quickly turned momentum in her favor, landing in combination after Serrano swung and missed with a right hook.

Both fighters submitted their love letter to the passionate crowd in the closing seconds of the fight, unloading at center ring. Serrano—who was cut over her right eye appeared to buckle Taylor’s knees near the very end, though her fate was already decided on the scorecards.

The judges were torn between Serrano’s relentless pressure, landing 173-of-624 punches in just ten rounds of action. Taylor landed 147-of-375 total punches, connecting at a 39% clip compared to 28% for Serrano. The same trend was found in power punches, where Serrano threw and landed more (171-of-474 to 146-of-314 for Taylor) but Taylor was the more accurate (46% to 36%).

Taylor retains her undisputed lightweight championship, advancing to 21-0 (6KOs). The win marked her sixth defense of all four belts and the lineal crown after fully unifying in this very venue in a ten-round win over Delfine Persoon in June 2019. Taylor entered the Garden with her WBA/IBF/WBO belts in tow, claiming Persoon’s belt though in a disputed majority decision that drew demand for a sequel.

One would come on the other side of the pandemic, only after original plans fell through for Taylor-Serrano. The two were due to fight in May 2020 in Manchester, England, where Taylor became a two-division champ with a win over WBO junior welterweight titlist Christina Linardatou in November 2019. The pandemic killed those plans, with the sport’s politics ruining efforts to reschedule for that August.

Serrano—who has won titles in every weight from junior bantamweight through junior welterweight—instead went back to the drawing board, picking up a knockout win in Dominican Republic before returning to her beloved Puerto Rico homeland to headline a Ring City USA card on the now-defunct NBC Sports Network last March in Old San Juan, knocking out pound-for-pound entrant Daniela Bermudez to defend her unified featherweight titles.

From there came the move that would change Serrano’s life—and pay scale. A co-feature appearance on the August 2021 Showtime Pay-Per-View card headlined by Jake Paul served as the starting point for the unlikely professional bond between the record-setting titlist and the unorthodox content creator whose Most Valuable Promotions signed Serrano and eventually paved the way for a deal to be reached with Matchroom Boxing to produce this event.

“We built this as one of the biggest fights in boxing today,” noted Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn. “What this became was one of the biggest moments in time. We witnessed what I believe is one of the greatest fights in the history of Madison Square Garden.

"This is the night where we no longer talk about men's boxing or women's boxing. It's just boxing." 

Serrano (42-2-1, 30KOs) was valiant the entire way but ultimately suffers her first defeat in ten years, almost to the day. The legendary Boricua rattled off 28 consecutive wins following an April 2012 loss to Frida Walberg on the road in Sweden, claiming six of her record-setting seven divisional titles along the way to forever etch her name in the record books.

Taylor continues to rise to the occasion in a boxing lifetime filled with shattering glass ceilings. A driving force in having women’s boxing included in the Olympics, Taylor claimed a Gold medal in 2012 London before falling one fight short of the medal round in 2016 Rio.

Following her November 2016 pro debut, Taylor played an integral role in raising awareness and pay for women’s boxing. It came with results in the ring, winning her first major title in just her seventh pro fight. Taylor is now 15-0 in major title fights, the latest leaving her at the top the sport on a night that forever leave an imprint on the sport as a whole.

“Just walking out on the arena floor, looking at the packed stadium, it was unbelievable,” admitted Taylor. “It was a special, special moment for sure. I wasn’t sure if anything could reach my winning an Olympic Gold medal but this is definitely the best moment of my career.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox