Amanda Serrano accuses Katie Taylor of cheating as Irish woman booed | Boxing

Amanda Serrano has made accusations against Ireland’s Katie Taylor, claiming she deliberately headbutted her during their intense rematch in Texas.

Despite the controversy, Taylor successfully defended her undisputed light welterweight world title with a unanimous victory over Serrano at AT&T Stadium on Friday, with the judges scoring the bout 95-94 in her favor.

The Puerto Rican fighter caused controversy in her post-fight Netflix interview, during which Taylor was accused of cheating and intentional head-butting. Serrano suffered a serious cut above her eye in the fourth round, which was ruled an accidental headbutt.

Taylor lost a point on the eighth lap after repeated warnings against leading with the head. After the match, Serrano stated: “I knew when I went to the judges it was going to be a little murky.

“I chose to be great. I moved up three divisions. It is what it is. I’m a featherweight, man. She kept headbutting me. That’s what she does.”

“It’s not just my fight, it’s all her fights. It’s what she does.” In response, Taylor defended himself, saying, “I certainly wasn’t fighting. It gets rough out there. It was an absolute brawl, a war.

“This is a great moment in women’s boxing. Thank God for another great fight.”

The fight started with both fighters trading punches before Taylor landed a heavy counter punch midway through the opening round.

Despite Serrano recovering quickly and landing a vicious counter of his own as the bell rang, the pace picked up in the second round as Taylor began to dominate some heavy exchanges.

Throughout the third round, Serrano advanced and repeatedly pushed Taylor into the ropes, but the Irish woman’s skilled defense allowed her to land multiple shots from underneath and maintain the pressure on her opponent.

Both women landed heavy blows during the fourth round, with Serrano suffering a serious gash on her forehead after an accidental headbutt.

The wound worsened in the following round, forcing the referee to pause the action in the sixth round so the ringside doctor could examine it.

After the fight was given the green light to continue, the seventh round saw non-stop action as both women were rocked by heavy blows, but neither showed signs of giving up.

Early in the eighth lap, Serrano landed a series of vicious jabs before Taylor was cautioned for leading with his head.

Taylor retaliated with a flurry of punches of her own, but was given a point penalty after repeated warnings from the referee. In the ninth round, both fighters landed heavy hits, but Serrano appeared to be hampered by a cut above her eye, which caused her to miss several powerful punches.

The final round saw both women go all out, each landing crucial blows before time ran out as Taylor cornered Serrano.

After the bell, Taylor and Serrano shared a hug, but the largely pro-Serrano crowd expressed their dissatisfaction when the results were announced.

The match was a brutal exchange over 10 rounds, echoing their previous classic at Madison Square Garden in 2022.

After the bell, Taylor and Serrano shared a hug, but the announcement of the results was met with disapproval from the largely pro-Serrano crowd.