Katie Taylor may still be the undisputed super lightweight champion of the world but the fallout to her contentious win over Amanda Serrano remains ongoing less than 24 hours after her bout.
Taylor retained her gold in controversial circumstances after landing what was judged to be a headbutt on Amanda Serrano in Texas, in what was otherwise a thrilling encounter.
An apparent headbutt from Taylor in the clinch cut her rival open in the fourth in a fiercely fought clash, and blood would poor from the Puerto Rican for the remainder of the fight with both fighters giving their all.
Taylor was then deducted a point for a subsequent headbutt in the clinch, but still prevailed via unanimous decision with the crowd in Arlington, Texas vocalising their disagreement with the verdict.
Katie Taylor is deducted a point after repeated headbutts‼️#PaulTyson #Boxing #TysonPaul #tysonvpaul #TysonXPaul #PaulTyson
pic.twitter.com/HvyCbgRVlc— MMA Casuals (@MMA_CASUALS_) November 16, 2024
Claressa Shields Claim Katie Taylor Deserved Win Vs Amanda Serrano
Undefeated women's boxer Claressa Shields, who is one of the biggest names in the sport, atteneded the fight and gave her professional opinion that Taylor deserved the victory despite the post-fight reaction.
Shields, as shown in a clip shared by Boxing Enthusiast on X, dissected why Taylor was worthy of her contentious victory on the night.
I thought Amanda had the bigger shots in the middle and the beginning of the fight," Shields reflected.
"But who landed the better shots? Who did the countering? Who had better defence? It was Katie Taylor.
"I knew the fight was going to be really close but once the headbutt happened, Katie got real smart and kept aiming for the cut with big hooks.
"Amanda's defence up top was not together and she just walked to Taylor and stalked her down.
"She walked her down and she was trying but Katie fought her off the back-foot, she countered and she circled her and Amanda did not cut off the ring.
"I think Katie won the fight by a hair. It is what it is and look, I wanted Amanda to win!"
She added: 'Women's boxing won tonight but if you ask me my personal opinion I thought Katie edged it by just a little bit because she is very strategic, stuck to the gameplan and won rounds even though she was tired as hell.
"She would just explode with those five punches and land every one because Amanda doesn't have good defence. What do you want me to say?"
Claressa Shields gives her honest opinion on who won the fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano #BoxingEnthusiast | #TaylorSerrano2 | #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/aK5z2oT3nN
— BoxingEnthusiast (@BoxingEnth) November 16, 2024
Serrano's coach Jordan Maldonado accused Taylor of 'dirty' fighting as the bout came to its climax when speaking to Ariel Helwani ringside, while Serrano doubled down on the accusation in her post-fight interview.
"She kept headbutting me and that's something she has done before... I think 100% (the headbutts were on purpose)," she said.
"It's not the first time. She did it to me, she did it to (Chantelle) Cameron. It is what it is. I'm a champion no matter what.
However, Shields came to the defence of Taylor, sharing her view that the headbutt came about inadvertently as she attempted to avoid further punishment from her opponent.
'I think the headbutts happened the same way in the first fight and I don't think that Katie did them on purpose," she said.
"She was trying to avoid big shots. She almost got dropped the first round but still, we have to control our heads and be better."
While Shields may have seen things in Taylor's favour, a whole host of celebrities saw things the other way according to social media activity after the bout.
