(CNN)- Katie Taylor’s controversial points decision victory over Amanda Serrano faced criticism at AT&T Stadium on Friday, as the Irish boxer retained her undisputed title as super lightweight world champion.
In the co-main event before the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, Taylor and Serrano offered another classic confrontation in their long-awaited rematch, the last time they met in 2022.
Puerto Rican Serrano was the main aggressor of the fight, landing more blows than Taylor, although the Irishman managed to successfully counter-attack on several occasions.
In the face of Serrano’s siege, Taylor repeatedly resorted to ducking to bring his head closer to his opponent, leading to a collision in the fourth round that left Serrano with a large cut over his right eye. As the fight continued, the wound bled profusely.
The 38-year-old Taylor was penalized a point for a headbutt in the eighth round, and most thought Serrano had done enough to avenge her loss to Taylor at Madison Square Garden a little more than two years earlier .
But, to the surprise of Serrano and almost everyone in attendance, the three judges scored the fight 95–94 in Taylor’s favor.
As Taylor celebrated and Serrano stood in the ring with an expression of disbelief, fans at AT&T Stadium criticized the decision.
After the fight, Taylor said he did not care about criticism of the outcome and defended his performance, insisting that he had not fought dirty.
“I did not agree with the deduction of marks. “It gets intense in there… it was a real battle,” he told Netflix. “This is an incredible moment for women’s boxing. Thank God for another great fight.”
For her part, Serrano said in her post-fight interview that she was “100% convinced” that the blows to Taylor’s head were intentional and pointed out that a serious cut could have had the effect.
“I knew if we went to the judges there would be something suspicious,” he told Netflix. “I decided to be great. I went up three divisions. It’s the same… I’m the featherweight champion. “I want to be great and I only fight against the best.”
“Every time you get a cut, it affects you. Your eye bleeds, it hurts, she kept hitting me on the head, but we knew that from the first fight,” he said.
“They do that, not just to me, they did it to Chantelle Cameron too. Listen, I’m Boricua. “I will die in this ring, no matter how many cuts I get on my face.”
Expressing surprise at the result, Serrano wrote on social media
In the other main event, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul defeated former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson by unanimous decision.
