Katie Taylor wins controversial decision in epic rematch with Amanda Serrano in Netflix co-main event

Katie Taylor moved to 2-0 against Amanda Serrano following another all-time classic but the controversial decision immediately led to calls for a trilogy between the fighters.

The back-and-forth war saw both connect with plenty of devastating punches but perhaps the biggest complaint came from Taylor repeatedly head butting Serrano throughout the fight. The referee ended up deducting a point from Taylor but that still didn’t cost her the decision with all three judges scoring the fight 95-94 in her favor.

“It’s obviously very hard to tell during the fight,” Taylor said about the scorecards. “An absolute war. Congratulations to Amanda, she’s a fantastic champion. Any punch can change the fight in boxing. I was prepared for that.”

After feeling like she got robbed in their first encounter, Serrano came out guns blazing in the rematch and she was in Taylor’s face immediately. Serrano established a good jab early but showed no fear stepping into the pocket to trade power punches with Taylor.

Just as the first round was coming to a close, Serrano uncorked a nasty left hook that had Taylor wobbled and she was forced to grab and hold on until the bell sounded to allow her a minute to recover.

As time passed, Taylor was able to settle into a better rhythm but she couldn’t keep Serrano from constantly walking her down and unloading the bigger, harder punches.

Taylor finally started firing off faster combinations as the fight moved into the fourth but that just invited a brawl with Serrano meeting her shot for shot. Serrano closed the round with a vicious left to the body after she suffered a gruesome cut over her right eye thanks to an accidental head butt.

When Taylor was able to utilize her footwork, she avoided some of the aggression coming from Serrano but the challenger just kept coming after her. Taylor also kept holding onto Serrano to slow her down, which earned her a warning from the referee.

Another wild exchange saw a clash of heads directly on Serrano’s cut with Taylor then launching a hard right hook simultaneously. The doctor checked over the cut but allowed the fight to continue and that only seemed to fire up Serrano that much more.

Still, Taylor was starting to connect with more regularity as she displayed superior hand speed in many of the exchanges. In return, Serrano was throwing with huge power behind every punch including a slick uppercut that came right up the middle and found a home on Taylor’s chin.

As the battle continued, Taylor ducked and came back up again for another head butt in the eighth round and the referee paused the action to deduct a point from the Irish fighter. Between rounds, the referee warned Taylor for repeated fouls and her coaches were adamant that she needed to close out strong to ensure she would get the job done.

With two minutes remaining, the fighters threw caution to the wind as they just started throwing heat seeking missiles looking for the knockout. Taylor continued with similar tactics trying to close the distance but Serrano just kept launching bombs as the crowd ripped up in applause as the fight came to a close.

Following the conclusion of the fight, Serrano addressed the repeated fouls from Taylor as the cut man dealt with the massive gash on her eyebrow.

“I think 100 percent [it was on purpose] because she does it every fight,” Serrano said.

Obviously, Taylor disagreed.

“I definitely didn’t agree with the point deduction,” Taylor said. “I definitely wasn’t fighting dirty.”

Through two bouts, Taylor and Serrano have produced arguably the best women’s boxing matches in history so it’s tough to imagine they won’t see each other for a third time regardless of both decisions going for the Irish fighter. Of course, Serrano has to leave dejected once again after feeling like she deserved the nod but she goes home with another loss on her record.