Three out of three. Once again, it was Katie Taylor who came out on top on the scorecards, putting an end to her trilogy with Amanda Serrano—one of the most captivating in the history of women’s boxing. At Madison Square Garden in New York, the main event of the card organized by MVP Promotions turned out to be a more tactical bout than expected, certainly the least intense of the series featuring the two fighters. Yet the conclusion mirrored that of the previous two encounters: Taylor was declared the winner by Majority Decision, with the official scores reading 97-93, 95-95, and 97-93. The Irish boxer thus retained the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO super-lightweight titles.
That Amanda Serrano was aiming to try a different approach compared to the all-out pressure of the first two fights was evident from the opening round, where the Puerto Rican boxer took on the role of a counterpuncher, waiting for her opponent and trying to catch her coming in. Taylor, however, didn’t take the bait, resulting in the dullest two minutes of the entire trilogy.
From the second round onward, the intensity picked up slightly but never reached the level the crowd had come to expect. Serrano controlled the center of the ring, inching forward in search of the right opening to unleash her left hand, while Taylor moved smartly around her, occasionally tagging her with quick single shots.
In one of the few moments Serrano launched a meaningful attack—during the closing seconds of the third round—Taylor met her with two perfectly timed counters that quickly discouraged her from further aggression.
The first half of the bout passed without much drama, so much so that the most shocking moment came from the absurd unofficial scorecard shown during the Netflix broadcast, apparently compiled by someone convinced that merely holding the center of the ring and advancing, without landing effective punches, was enough to win rounds.
Serrano showed a bit more life after the halfway point, but it was more due to Taylor’s drop in activity than her own merit. The Irishwoman further slowed down her work rate and allowed herself some lapses in focus, taking a few avoidable shots in the sixth and eighth rounds.
That brief momentum, however, didn’t give the Puerto Rican fighter the spark she needed to ignite a fiery charge in the so-called championship rounds—partly due to the flawed strategy she had adopted earlier. In the first two bouts of the trilogy, Taylor had been forced into such a physically draining pace that she had to stand her ground at times and trade punches. This time, however, she reached the final two rounds still fresh.
Not surprisingly, the reigning world champion was able to effortlessly evade Serrano’s left hands in the ninth round with well-timed backward steps, before clearly and authoritatively winning the final round, firmly asserting her superiority.
Personally, I agree with the 97–93 scorecards submitted by two of the judges, and find the 95–95 tally by Mr. Mark Lyson excessively generous toward the challenger—thankfully overruled by his colleagues.
Let’s be blunt: this was by far the least thrilling of the three fights between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. While both fighters held back for different reasons, I believe the main responsibility for the lack of action lies with the challenger and her team.
Serrano tried to change her strategy in hopes of also changing the outcome, but in doing so she completely abandoned her identity, stepping into her opponent’s preferred terrain and allowing her to control the pace without ever being forced out of her comfort zone.
Making a few adjustments to her game plan in order to improve her chances of success could have been a smart move. For instance, she could have worked on upper body and head movement while coming forward, making it harder for Taylor to land her trademark counters. But Serrano ended up throwing the baby out with the bathwater: in trying to cover up her weaknesses, she also sacrificed her strengths—and paid the price for it.
It’s also worth noting that both athletes entered this third fight at the tail end of long, grueling careers filled with countless wars that have undeniably worn them down both physically and mentally. So it would be unfair to judge them too harshly if, after delivering so many unforgettable performances, they couldn’t quite light the spark needed to stage one more great show.