INTERNATIONAL: Katie Taylor retained her undisputed lightweight world championship on Saturday (April 30), with a split-decision victory over Amanda Serrano on a historic night in Madison Square Garden, New York in front of a raucous sell-out crowd.
The Irishwoman, who stretched her unbeaten professional record to 21-0, and Serrano were the first women to headline a fight at the world's most famous arena and put on a show-stopping performance equal to the occasion.
Taylor kept the fight on the outside to begin with before deciding to stand and trade in the fourth and fifth, and she almost paid dearly for the decision as Serrano connected.
Her legs were still wobbling well into the sixth round, but she managed to dig deep and get back on the outside, picking off the challenger and scoring with simple combinations.
Taylor went all-out for the finish in the final round, punching maniacally as the final bell approached, but by then the work was done and the judges convinced that Taylor's hand was the one that deserved to be raised after an epic encounter.
Competing under the watchful eye of pioneering Hall of Famer Christy Martin in the biggest fight in the history of women's boxing, the meeting between the two best pound-for-pound boxers ushered in a new era for the sport.
The famed boxing venue had played host to luminaries such as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, but had never seen two women headline before, and the event set the Big Apple buzzing to its core.
Promoter Matchroom Boxing said the fight attracted more media applications than Briton Anthony Joshua's heavyweight fights at Wembley against Wladimir Klitschko and against Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"The packed stadium, unbelievable, it was absolutely special, special moment. The best night of my career for sure. I wasn't sure if anything could've reached my Olympic gold medal moment but tonight was absolutely the best moment of my career," said Taylor.
PHOTO: SOUNDBITES FROM KATIE TAYLOR AND AMANDA SERRANO AT POST FIGHT NEWS CONFERENCES.
