What a fight!
To say this fight had everything would be an understatement. It was as close as it possibly could be, and the sheer level of heart, desire, and unprecedented levels of will power were frightening.
Katie Taylor got off to the better start, making full use of the ring, working beautifully at mid-range where she was able to land her combinations, but bounce out just in time, and she had a lot of initial success with the check hook.
However, Amanda Serrano then burst into life and just trapped Taylor on the ropes, made the ring seem half its size, and cut off any space that the Irish native was looking to slip into.
The Puerto Rican champ was relentless, throwing heavy and throwing often, and in the fifth round, Taylor looked genuinely out on her feet; this was the deepest water she had ever been dragged into. They say you have to go to the trenches, but this was even deeper than that.
Every Taylor fan worldwide was watching that round through their fingers, as grannies everywhere were getting phone calls, demanding that candles be lit, because the dream truly looked to be over.
https://twitter.com/UnFadeable21/status/1520596947748495362
However, ring experience paid dividends, the defending champ came out, found her distance again, stayed off the ropes, and regained her composure.
Then in the eighth round, Taylor found her second wind and took control – she was hard to hit, spinning off on her left, and worked laterally rather than in straight lines.
It was Serrano’s turn to dig deep now and she put her foot on the gas, but almost wanted it too much and started chasing the fight, swinging more wildly than normal.
Then it all came down to the last round, with everything on the line, and the two warriors went toe to toe. The decades of training they put into their careers came to fruition here and they both tapped into inhuman regions of reserves, in what were surely empty gas tanks, but they defied all of the odds by even being where they are now, and they did it again tonight.
WHAT A FINAL ROUND!!!! Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano will be a fight to remember. Incredible fight. #TaylorSerrano pic.twitter.com/envzaa3Axu
— FightBiz (@FightBizz) May 1, 2022
It was always going to be a split decision, it was just that close, but in the end Taylor started stronger and finished stronger, and was the deserving winner on a wonderful night.
Sports fans are greedy though, and the blood hasn’t even dried on the girls’ faces, but everyone is already crying out for a rematch, and both Eddie Hearn and Jake Paul have agreed that there’s only one place to do that – Croke Park.
Now imagine that.
