Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano have produced two of the most thrilling fights in not only women’s boxing, but boxing, period.
Both matches, though, have ended controversially in the form of Taylor wins as the Irish superstar got a split-decision nod for their war in April 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and more recently a unanimous decision in her favor at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas this past November for Taylor to retain her undisputed super lightweight crown.
And that brings us to DAZN News' seventh New Year’s Resolution for boxing in 2025:
For a Taylor-Serrano trilogy to finally settle arguably the best rivalry in women’s boxing history
Critics and fans alike can argue that each of the pair’s previous fights should have gone to Serrano instead of Taylor.
Their first fight had Serrano put Taylor through a devastating fifth round in which the Irish sensation’s legs were gone and she was literally holding on to survive as the Puerto Rican fighter was seriously threatening the stoppage. Taylor rebounded admirably and was given the close split-decision nod for what judges deemed as her landing cleaner punches during exchanges, especially in the clinch.
More than two years later, Serrano once again put herself in position to win, with the rematch having her landing 324 punches to Taylor’s 217. Still, judges sided with Taylor in what was received as a poor decision by many fight fans.
Their sequel had Serrano fighting ruggedly despite a fourth-round headbutt which opened a nasty gash over her right eye. The gash only widened when the two clashed heads again in the sixth round, but the cut didn’t keep Serrano from getting the better of Taylor during their heated exchanges.
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Despite Taylor also getting penalized a point for headbutting in the eighth round and Serrano finishing the fiery bout strongly, judges still gave the champion Taylor the unanimous decision edge, 95-94, across the board.
“[Taylor] kept headbutting me. But we knew that from the very beginning, from the first fight. That’s what they do," Serrano said of the verdict and Taylor’s tactics live on Netflix before the card’s headliner of Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul took the ring.
"She did it in not only my fight, she did it with Chantelle Cameron. Listen, I’m a Boricua. I’m going to die in this ring no matter how many cuts I have in my face.”
Serrano added that she believes Taylor is headbutting intentionally: “I think 100 percent, because she does it in every fight. It’s not the first fight.”
This continued cloud of controversy, plus the thrilling, magnetizing nature of their fire fights demand a trilogy.
It’s the biggest fight for a 38-year-old Katie Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs).
It’s the biggest fight for a 36-year-old Amanda Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs).
A trilogy bout with Taylor’s undisputed super lightweight world championship at stake would end this great rivalry once and for all. And sometime within this year is the perfect time to do it.