Taylor Vs. Serrano Trilogy: A Disappointing Chess Match, Not A Bloodbath

Undisputed super lightweight champion Katie Taylor (25-1, 6 KOs) boxed her way to a lackluster 10-round majority decision over Amanda Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs) in their trilogy match at Madison Square Garden in New York.

$9M Purse, Low Action Fight

Both fighters received huge purses of $9 million. The crowd booed at times, wanting to see the action from the Taylor-Serrano that they’d seen in their first two fights.  The way Taylor and Serrano fought tonight, they didn’t deserve even 1% of their purses. It looked like they were shadow boxing at times, and it was so boring.

The money didn’t translate into more action on either fighter’s part. Taylor and Serrano fought like they didn’t want to take punishment, and were content to do the minimum and go home with their millions. Their performances were similar to the fighters on the main card of the May 2nd event at Times Square in New York City.

Taylor got the nod by the judges with the scores 97-93, 95-95, and 97-93. Some fans felt that Serrano was robbed, as she’d landed more shots and harder ones.

“It was a good fight, a great trilogy. The ladies made the adjustment. This whole crew was talking about the ladies being smarter and not fighting harder. We know they can fight hard,” said Andre Ward to Fighthype, discussing the results of tonight’s trilogy match between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.

Ward is being kind by saying it was a “good fight” because it was anything but that. It was a disappointment, and the quality was far less than the undercard fights.

Taylor-Serrano III: Chess Not War

“We still didn’t know who was the better fighter was,” said Ward. “There wasn’t as much action tonight, but I really appreciated the skill set. It was a high-level game of chess. Nobody wanted to make a mistake. The truth is, nobody really wanted to take that much punishment.

“Only the fighters that have fought and took those punches are the ones saying, ‘I need to box and not do that again.’ I understand the fans. Many haven’t fought. They just want to see another blood bath. It’s good that both ladies don’t have to go to the emergency room tonight,” said Ward about Taylor and Serrano playing it safe.