Katie Taylor beats Amanda Serrano for THIRD time but trilogy fight disappoints

Katie Taylor edged out Amanda Serrano for the third time to settle their bitter rivalry in New York.

Taylor had won a split-decision victory in the Big Apple three years ago before outpointing Serrano again in Texas last year. But after two slugfests, the third fight failed to live up to lofty expectations as it descended into a tactical battle.

After 10 rounds, one judge scored the fight a draw while the other two gave Taylor the nod by a score of 97-93 to ensure she remains the undisputed super-lightweight world champion.

"I'd like to thank Amanda Serrano, what an amazing fighter; we made history three times and it's a privilege to share the ring with her," said Taylor. "We are history makers forever. I was planning to come in here quite disciplined and smart."

Serrano felt she had done enough to win, adding: "I tried something different. It was all about working smarter, not harder. I tried to keep my distance, try not to go in there and fight with her because apparently it didn't work the first two fights."

"I got a couple of rounds. I don't know. Honestly, I have to go back and see it. My team said I won. Obviously, I'm going to go with what my team tells me. They were telling me what to do and I was trying to apply it in the ring."

A cagey opening round saw barely a bunch landed in stark contrast to the final session of last year's sequel. Serrano began to push the pace in the second round as she pulled the trigger on her left hand - but Taylor was sharp with her counter-attacks.

The fight briefly sparked into life in the third round as caution was briefly thrown to the wind but Taylor had her best two minutes of the fight in the fourth as she began to time her attacks. The Irishwoman continue to edge ahead in the fifth as the trilogy reached its halfway point without igniting.

Serrano showed more urgency as the second half got underway, cutting the ring off and catching Taylor flush with a right hand on the bell. The champion responded in the seventh with one combination often proving enough to snatch the round given the lack of action.

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Taylor was bruised under her right eye by the eighth round and was ordered by her corner to increase her output over the final four minutes. But she was timing Serrano to perfection, forcing the Puerto Rican to miss before countering.

And it was Taylor who finished the stronger as the fight was once again left in the judges' hands.

On the undercard, Savannah Marshall suffered a surprise defeat by Shadasia Green in their super-middleweight unification clash. Green was deducted a point for holding but was named the winner on two of the three judges' scorecards as Marshall slipped to only the second defeat of her career.

Her countrywoman Ellie Scotney outpointed Yamileth Mercado to retain her super-bantamweight world titles while Alicia Baumgardner did likewise against Jennifer Miranda in the chief support. There were also wins for Cherneka Johnson, Chantelle Cameron, Ramla Ali and Tamm Thibeault.