Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2: Taylor claims controversial decision, hints at third fight

Already established as one of the greatest female boxers of all time, Katie Taylor added to her legacy once again but not without controversy. The Irish fighter was awarded a controversial 10-round unanimous decision over Amanda Serrano and retained her undisputed super lightweight championship. All three judges scored the rematch 95-94.

Taylor (24-1) was rocked at the end of round one and seemed to be struggling with her opponent’s power in the early rounds. However, she showed serious heart to come through the rough patches, and Serrano’s performance was hindered in the second half by a grotesque eye cut caused by a clash of heads. The ensuing action was sensational.

“It’s hard to score and fight the fight. I knew it was an absolute war in there,” said Taylor during her post-fight interview as the crowd continued to boo the decision. “Congratulations to Amanda, she’s a fantastic champion.

“We’ve agreed to 12 three-minute rounds in the next fight, so the triple is on. She’s a hard puncher and a tough warrior, so I was prepared for that. I don’t care what the commentary team or the crowd say, all that matters is the judges around the ring.”

A true warrior, fighter, and trailblazer of the sport. We are always proud of you @serranosisters and the heart you show. A TRUE CHAMPION @Serranosisters pic.twitter.com/LRKOpdoYTo

— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) November 16, 2024With Serrano being a southpaw, both women jostled for position in the opening round. However, Serrano was the first to score heavily when she rocked the champion with a powerful overhand left that had Taylor woozy at the bell.

There was a noticeable difference in punching power, which many expected. Taylor’s shots were nuisance value by comparison, but they came in bunches and kept her in the hunt. Early on, however, it was difficult to score rounds for the Irish fight because she was nailed by the more effective punches.

A turning point occurred in round four when Serrano was cut over the right eye by a clash of heads. It was bad enough, but a second clash opened the wound up by at least half an inch. The doctor inspected the damage and allowed the action to continue.

Serrano’s performance and accuracy dipped, allowing Taylor to take advantage on the counter. Rounds six and seven were big for the Irish fighter although a point deduction for another clash of heads in the eighth looked costly.

The action in rounds nine and ten was out of this world and it looked like Serrano had done enough to avenge her defeat to Taylor in 2022 and lift a second undisputed championship. Alas, it was not to be.

Despite being at the tail end of her career, Taylor continues to enjoy huge triumphs. In May of last year, the 36-year-old sharpshooter scored a revenge win over Chantelle Cameron to become a double undisputed champion, and this second victory over Serrano is huge for her.

“This is an amazing moment again for women’s boxing,” said Taylor. “Once again, we put on a great show.”

A pioneer and a wonderful ambassador for the game, Serrano (47-3-1) has done more than she could have imagined in boxing. A seven-weight world champion, there’s nothing more to prove, but “The Real Deal” loves the sport and you can bet that she’ll return to action in 2025.

“I knew if it went to the judges it would be a little shady, but I chose to be great – I went up three divisions [for this fight],” said Serrano, who still reigns as unified featherweight champ. “I fight the best and it is what it is.

“Every time you get a headbutt, it hurts, and blood gets in your eye. We knew from the first fight that she does this. It’s not just with me, she did it with Chantelle Cameron. But I’m a Boricua… I’d die in this ring no matter what. No matter how many cuts I have on my face, I’ll fight to the end.”

The Sporting News will provide live results, updates, highlights, and round-by-round scoring for this fight.

Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2 live updates, highlights, and commentaryKatie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2: SN live scorecardRound12345678910TotalTaylor910999101099994Serrano 109101010999101097WOW!!! KATIE TAYLOR IS STILL THE UNDISPUTED SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. ALL THREE JUDGES SCORE THE BOUT 95-94 IN HER FAVOUR! THE CROWD DON’T LIKE IT ONE BIT…Round 10: Taylor nailed with a right and a left. Serrano is getting the best of it but Taylor will not give up her title easily. She blazes back with a strong two-fisted assault. Taylor fighting hurt and is taking absolute hell. Body shot pushes Taylor back Huge shots by Serrano and a MASSIVE SHOT in return from Taylor. WHAT A FIGHT!!!!! WE GO TO THE SCORECARDS!!!

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Serrano (97-94 Serrano)

Round 9: Insane combination work from both women. More accuracy from Serrano in these fierce changes and she’s going to war. This was one of the best rounds the pair have contested. Blood and guts warfare in the best match-up women’s boxing has ever produced.

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Serrano (87-85 Serrano)

Round 8: Huge shots again from both women. Taylor with more punches and Serrano with much harder blows. Another clash of heads opens the cut up AGAIN! Taylor scores a solid left. Another head clash and a left hook by Taylor. Incredible trading up close. POINT DEDUCTED FROM TAYLOR FOR A CLASH OF HEADS. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 9-9 (77-76 Serrano)

Round 7: Huge exchanges and Serrano is blinded by her blood. Taylor weary and Serrano wounded. Both women duking it out at ring center. Solid left by Taylor. Huge right hook by Serrano and another one. The challenger’s cut is taking away from her accuracy.  

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Taylor (67-66 Serrano)

Round 6: Nice hook by Serrano, who is applying a lot of pressure. Taylor on the run, scores a quick flurry but they’re nuisance value. Another clash of heads opens Serrano’s cut opens up and IT IS BAD. IN FACT, IT IS HORRIFIC! Taylor nails a distracted Serrano twice when the action continues. Furious fists by Taylor but a lot of the shots are missing.

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Taylor (58-56 Serrano)

Round 5: Taylor clinches again and Serrano makes good use of her left hand on the inside. The champ goes back out to long range and keeps her distance. Serrano catches up and scores two lefts. Taylor looking unsteady and a bit discombobulated. Hard to give her rounds given the pressure she’s under.

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Serrano (49-46 Serrano)

Round 4: Taylor with a quick flurry but the punches are having zero effect. Serrano hurts the Irish fighter again on the inside and looks on point. Serrano cut by a clash of heads near her right eye. Taylor scores a really nice shot at the bell.

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Serrano (39-37 Serrano)

Round 3: Taylor is up on her toes which is what served her well in fight one. Solid right jab by Serrano. Taylor ties her opponent up on the inside and drifts back out to long range. Good left hand by Serrano, who is pounded to the body when her back touches the ropes.

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Serrano (29-28 Serrano)

Round 2: Taylor backing off and looking for time. Taylor scores with a sharp right. Taylor not moving enough and risking danger. Nice flurry by Taylor scores. Serrano with a left on the inside. Taylor counters again but looks a little labored with her attacks. Sharp shots again by Taylor at the bell.

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Taylor (19-19)

Round 1: In this orthodox vs. southpaw battle, both women are looking for positioning. Serrano takes ring center and is caught on the counter when she attacks. Serrano with a jab and a left hand. Flurry by Taylor. Left hand by Serrano, who is noticeably more powerful. Taylor nailed HARD by a left hand and she’s hurt at the bell.

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Serrano

* We now switch to round-by-round scoring for Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2. This is the chief support to Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.

10:10 p.m. ET / 7:10 p.m. PT: Next up is the undisputed super lightweight title fight between champion Katie Taylor and challenger Amanda Serrano. Taylor looks to repeat her sensational decision triumph over Serrano two years ago in New York. This is a battle of pound-for-pound superstars!!!

WELL, WELL, WELL… THE OFFICIAL RESULT IS A SPLIT DECISION DRAW. OFFICIAL SCORES ARE 116-110 BARRIOS, 114-112 RAMOS WITH THE FINAL JUDGE UNABLE TO SPLIT THE PAIR AT 113-113. BARRIOS RETAINS HIS WBC TITLE.9:56 p.m. ET / 6:56 p.m. PT: Barrios takes the last round (some great two-way action) and should retain his WBC welterweight title on points. He started well, overcame adversity and re-established command late on. Great effort from Ramos!

9:52 p.m. ET / 6:52 p.m. PT: Barrios’ face is grotesquely swollen and blood has been pouring from his nose. Ramos has sustained cuts over both eyes and is also bleeding from the nose. It’s the final round and the feeling is that Ramos might need a knockout.

9:48 p.m. ET / 6:48 p.m. PT: Ten rounds complete and the experienced Barrios has a foothold again. He’s working well behind the jab and was firing in accurate combination work throughout the last session. We enter the championship rounds.

9:40 p.m. ET / 6:40 p.m. PT: We’re eight rounds down and Ramos is on the ascendancy. It’s possible that Barrios hasn’t recovered from the knockdown as he was badly hurt. The champion might be in the lead but the gap is closing.

9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT: DOWN GOES BARRIOS FROM A HUGE RIGHT TO THE HEAD IN ROUND 6. THE CHAMP IS HURT!!! Follow-up attacks are sporadic, but Ramos hurts his man again at the end of the round. WE HAVE A FIGHT!

9:27 p.m. ET / 6:27 p.m. PT: We’re five rounds down and Barrios is in control. The challenger is doing well in spots, but he’s struggling to match his opponent’s jab and overall skillset. He also needs to watch the right which has hurt him twice already.

9:15 p.m. ET / 6:15 p.m. PT: A BIG RIGHT HAND DROPS RAMOS LATE IN ROUND TWO. The champion is finding the target with ominous regularity and the writing is on the wall already.

9:10 p.m. ET / 6:10 p.m. PT: A sharp right hand from Barrios almost forces Ramos to touch down. Except for that one moment, the opening round was evenly contested. Three minutes in and we have what looks like a really good technical boxing match.

9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT: Next up is the WBC welterweight championship bout between champion Mario Barrios and challenger Abel Ramos. Barrios was upgraded from interim to full champion when Terence Crawford relinquished the title.

THE WINNER IS NEERAJ GOYAT, WHO TAKES A SIX-ROUND UNANIMOUS DECISION AND IMPROVES TO 20-4-2. OFFICIAL SCORES ARE 60-54, 60-54, 59-55.8:45 p.m. ET / 5:45 p.m. PT: The fight is over and we go to the scorecards. Goyat, despite a limited and pedestrian display, should have won all six rounds. Given that this was Nunes’ debut, he can be be proud of his efforts.

8:35 p.m. ET / 5:35 p.m. PT: We’re three rounds down in the Goyat vs Nunes fight and it’s a bizarre affair. Goyat (19-4-2) is the superior fighter, but he looks out of shape and disinterested. This is Nunes’ pro debut and he’s acquitting himself well. Plenty of showboating from Goyat, which looks like a stalling tactic. 

8:15 p.m. ET / 5:15 p.m. PT: The cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys just finished a nice dance routine and ran out of the arena. Next up in the ring is Indian sensation Neeraj Goyat, who takes on Brazilian YouTuber Whindersson Nunes at super middleweight.

THE NEW WBO 168-POUND CHAMPION IS SHADASIA GREEN, WHO WINS A 10-ROUND SPLIT DECISION. OFFICIAL SCORES ARE 97-93, 96-94 AND 94-96.7:48 p.m. ET / 4:48 p.m. PT: We’re heading into the 10th and final round of this world title fight and the action has been closely contested. Both women have had their moments and there’s been plenty of ebb and flow.

7:38 p.m. ET / 4:38 p.m. PT: Seven-weight world champion and reigning unified featherweight titleholder Amanda Serrano is in the building and looks super-confident ahead of her eagerly anticipated rematch with Ireland’s Katie Taylor. What a fight we have in prospect!

7:20 p.m. ET / 4:20 p.m. PT: The first of three world title bouts sees Shadasia Green and Melinda Watpool contest the vacant WBO super middleweight title. We’re in round one and Green has already scored a nice right hand around the guard.

7:10 p.m. ET / 4:10 p.m. PT: Following a very close super lightweight fight, Lucas Bahdi wins a 10-round majority decision over Armando Casamonica. The official scores are 98-92, 96-93 and 95-95.

6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT: In the prelims, featherweight standout Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington scored an eight-round unanimous decision over Dana Coolwell. All three judges scored the fight 80-70. The American scored knockdowns in rounds four and eight.

6:00 p.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. PT: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of the eagerly anticipated rematch between future Hall of Famers Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, who collide for the former’s undisputed super lightweight title.

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight cardJake Paul vs. Mike Tyson; HeavyweightsKatie Taylor (c) def. Amanda Serrano (95-94, 95-94, 95-94) for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring super lightweight titlesMario Barrios (c) split draw Abel Ramos (116-110, 114-112, 113-113) for the WBC welterweight titleNeeraj Goyat def. Whindersson Nunes via UD 6 (60-54, 59-55, 59-55); Super middleweightShadasia Green def. Melinda Watpool via SD 10 (97-93, 96-94, 94-96) for the WBO super middleweight titleLucas Bahdi def. Armando Casamonica via MD 10 (98-92, 96-93, 95-95); LightweightsBruce Carrington def. Dana Coolwell via UD 8 (80-70, 80-70, 80-70); Featherweights