By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Katie Taylor remained the undisputed lightweight champion in a thrilling first women’s boxing match to headline at Madison Square Garden, edging Amanda Serrano in a split decision Saturday night.
Both fighters were cut as they fit in plenty of powerful exchanges during the two-minute rounds — one shorter than men’s. In the end, Taylor did just a little more to stay undefeated in front of an announced sold-out crowd of 19,187 that seemed spilt between Taylor’s Irish and Serrano’s Puerto Rican fans.
After the fighters traded punches during a slugfest of a 10th and final round, Taylor emerged with scores of 96-93 and 97-93 on two of the judges’ cards, while Serrano won 96-94 on the other.
The Associated Press scored it 96-94 for Taylor.
Taylor (21-0) was wobbled and her face bloodied in the fifth round, but she hung tough and found the range on her right hand with excellent counter punching.
Serrano (42-2-1), a seven-division champion, lost for the first time since 2012.
___
More AP boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
