Amanda Serrano had a burning desire to exact revenge. That fire fueled her performance when she stood in the ring against Katie Taylor and traded blows with her. In a repeat of their contest from 2022, there was no change of result, as the Puerto Rican fighter left the arena with a loss in a controversial decision.

Serrano and Taylor went the distance in the exciting fight as they put their bodies on the line. But it was the champion who swept the judges’ scorecard. Those read 95-94 in her favor, and she successfully defended her undisputed super lightweight title. However, the fight left a bad taste in viewers’ mouths, as the fight’s stream was routinely interrupted and disrupted due to the high traffic volume. Netflix’s servers could not keep up with the high number of simultaneous streams. The referee’s contentious call during the Serrano fight and the disputed judging only added to their agony.

Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor: slugfest and controversies

Serrano started the fight strongly, as she doubled up on jabs and looked for her left hooks. Meanwhile, Taylor looked for straights. In response, Serrano would rely on targeting the body. However, she suffered a cut right above her right eyebrow in the fourth round after an accidental headbutt from Taylor, which affected her performance in the later rounds.

But Serrano remained undeterred and continued to target Taylor’s head. The Irish fighter also stood her ground and let her hands go. But she also had a point deducted by the referee in the eighth round for a headbutt. In the end, the judges believed she had done enough to bag the win. The fans continued to boo her as she talked with Ariel Helwani in the post-fight interview. The fans and pros also expressed their candid opinions as they turned to their social media handles.

Fans and pros blast the referee

Caleb Plant blasted the referee’s decision to deduct a point from Taylor. He wrote, “Bullsh*t call by the ref!” Sergio Mora also joined him and said, “THAT POINT DEDUCTION WAS BULLSH*T!!!” The referee had given Taylor ample warnings for her clinching before making a point deduction in the eighth round. Helwani also pointed out in the post-fight interview that some had criticized her for dirty fighting.

Terence Crawford also contested the referee’s decision and noted, “They some dogs!!!” In another post on his handle, he argued, “That was a close fight! Taylor won them last rounds.” Taylor seemed to have come from behind in the later punches, partly because of her quick pair of hands and swiftness and partly because of Serrano’s nasty cut, which kept opening up and bleeding out.

Shakur Stevenson drew parallels with Floyd Mayweather‘s fight with John Gotti III. He declared, “They need to pull a Floyd and kick this ref out.” In another post, he vented out his frustration: “Terrible ref get him out of him he tryna make a name.” Notably, Mayweather had the referee swapped mid-fight when he was being interrupted by the official in the fight.

Claressa Shields shed light on the contrasting fighting styles of the two boxers. She stated, “Counters, and hand speed beat power tonight!!!!” While Taylor relied on counter and hand power, Serrano had a power-heavy fighting style. In the end, Shield’s prediction proved right.

Jamal Herring detailed his stance in the fight. He penned, “Wow… I was rooting for Katie coming in, but I think Amanda had this rematch. Just my opinion. What do y’all think though?” Many believed Serrano had won the rematch, including the broadcasting team, which openly criticized the decision.

Lastly, Regis Prograis believed a draw would have been the right call. He claimed, “I think a draw was the right decision.” Many onlookers gave Serrano the fight, and a draw could have pushed for a trilogy. But now, no one is sure.

What do you make of this fight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor? Let us know in the comments below.