RTE's Paul O'Flynn posts glowing tribute to 'lovely person' Katie Taylor
The Bray fighter retained her undisputed world super lightweight title following a tense showdown with Amanda Serrano in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Taylor has now said she will take some time to consider whether she will box again.
The 39-year-old, who had won their previous two meetings, triumphed on a majority decision at Madison Square Garden, with two of the judges scoring the bout 97-93 in Taylor's favour. RTE Sport's Paul O'Flynn and Katie Taylor.
The third judge was unable to split them after 10 tight rounds, scoring it 95-95.
Following the epic trilogy, RTE's Paul O'Flynn took to X to pay tribute to the fighter and 'lovely person'.
'A fresh Katie Taylor in NY this am! Whatever comes next, I've been honoured to follow her career for RTE Sport from Bray to Barbados, China, the Olympics and an epic Serrano trilogy,' he wrote.
'A champion, amazing ambassador for our country & a lovely person. We're lucky to have her.'
A fresh @KatieTaylor in NY this am!
Whatever comes next, Ive been honoured to follow her career for @RTEsport. From Bray to Barbados, China, the Olympics and an epic Serrano trilogy. A champion, amazing ambassador for our country & a lovely person. We're lucky to have her ☘️ pic.twitter.com/1Yqf315ui1 — Paul O'Flynn (@OFlynnPaul) July 12, 2025
Taylor definitively ruled out a fourth meeting with the Puerto Rican Serrano after Saturday's bout but was cagey when asked whether she would continue to fight.
'I don't know, I just don't want to fight Amanda Serrano again. She punches too hard,' said a happy Taylor after the bout.
'I have a huge ton of respect for Amanda, she's such a warrior.
'It's a pleasure to share a ring with her,' added Taylor. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
'We have made history three times. We are history makers forever.
'I thought I was boxing very smart, she wasn't able to catch me very much tonight. But it's always close against Amanda.'
Serrano, who has suffered three of her four professional losses to Taylor, said she had tried to work 'smarter not harder'.
'We tried to stay with the long punches and one-twos, and it just wasn't enough,' she said.
The third meeting between the two was cagier than their previous clashes, simmering throughout with much fewer punches landed. Katie Taylor celebrates after defeating Amanda Serrano. Pic:for Netflix
Neither fighter was able to impose themselves early on, with just three punches connecting in the opening round.
With both boxers operating from more of a distance than their previous meetings, Taylor looked to control the centre of the ring and landed some good counter-shots as she drew Serrano onto her.
Several rounds could have gone either way as the fight built to a tense climax, Serrano coming forwards more and forcing Taylor into a corner in the fifth round, but the champion fought her way out.
Taylor was marked under the right eye in the eighth, but edged the final two rounds to secure the verdict, much to the delight of the many Irish fans present in the Madison Square Garden Arena.
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Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Katie Taylor: Ten rounds that sealed immortality
When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer. When Katie Taylor did it, she bared her teeth and wheeled away with a winced grin. In every conceivable sense, crowning this trilogy was a glorious tribute to an astonishing career. In the main event at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, she defeated her greatest nemesis Amanda Serrano once again and defended her undisputed light-welterweight title in the process. The 95-95, 97-93 and 97-93 scorecard reflected this rivalry, its guts and its glory. Across three bouts, from New York to Texas and back, they have produced an hour of ferocious combat that Taylor edged throughout. This one was different from the rest. There was less relentless fury, less darkness on display. All of that suited the Irishwoman seamlessly. There are no winners in a war. There could only ever be one when it came to pure boxing. That is the reason the champion took such satisfaction from the performance as well as the prize. That is a reason this might be it. 'I am just going to enjoy this victory right now,' said Taylor when asked about her future. 'Sit back, reflect and I will make a decision on that soon. But I am very, very happy with tonight's performance.' Ten final rounds, ten pillars of greatness. Ten stanzas that explain how she made history. 1: It started slow. There was no question about her talent, but this ascent couldn't be rushed. There was significant Irish interest, a national love affair that has only grown stronger since the 2012 Olympic gold medal. Taylor was in control. Standard. 2: She would face constant aggression. Agitation. Accusations of favouritism, scorecard bias or dirty tactics. Back when she was making up way up the paid ranks in 2017, it was Jessica McCaskill who made her wobble. The all-black combatant was docked a point in the same fight. Eight years later, Serrano went searching with a big left hook. 3: Taylor stayed calm. She knows this arena and all of its demands. Her first bout here was in 2018. The blockbuster against Delfine Persoon came a year later. Serrano strived to stay on the front foot, like Rose Volante and Christina Linardatou did previously. 4: Another flurry. Outside of the ring, a volatile combination of Puerto Rican and Irish fervour finally had cause to detonate. At no point in her career has the Bray boxer become distracted by the sort of silliness that often accompanies that. Opponents come forward and propel all kinds of verbal shrapnel, usually after they were incapable of inflicting actual physical damage of their own. We cast our mind back to an extraordinary press conference at the Manchester Arena in 2019. Linardatou and her camp label Taylor 'fake', her promoter Eddie Hearn 'the Vince McMahon of boxing.' Serrano stepped up her complaints in the weeks prior to this showdown until Taylor snapped back during fight week. Stop the nonsense. You did lose. After a third defeat last Friday night, Serrano accepted the result graciously. 5: Now she had an opportunity to show her class. It was thanks to the 39-year-old that the sport hit the mainstream. It was her impact that created this all-women's card. 'When I was out there and Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano were walking out, that stadium was absolutely electric,' said an admiring Cherneka Johnson, who had just become the first Australian undisputed champion, male or female, in the four belt era. 'I had goosebumps and it was like 'wow this is truly happening.' To see that moment and to experience that feeling? It's special.' Taylor closed it out with a lead right to head into a rising second half. 6: She returned to stare down Persoon and secure a unanimous points decision in the rematch. She was better in the bright lights of the big city too thanks to familiarity with Serrano's strategy. Combinations bounced off the gloves. Yet another foe found it frustratingly difficult to catch her. 7: None of this is to say the challenge wasn't considerable. The Puerto Rican was stepping up. Her trainer Jordan Maldonado was content: 'You are doing good,' he told her at the break. 'You are winning this. You are looking fantastic.' 8: There were slips. The loss to Chantelle Cameron in Dublin, the first and only defeat. Throughout, it was slick mastery that brought her back into it. Trainer Ross Enamait has been by her side since day one. That is why she relocated to her Connecticut haven where the quiet and the gym provide sanctuary. 'Listen. Two more,' said Enamait. 'Last two rounds, this is a close fight. You have to pick it up now. You have to go on the front foot a little bit. Trust your hand speed to get off.' 9: It all flowed forward. Taylor controlled the pace. A gorgeous 1-2 sequence drew a volley of Oles from the upper tiers. The Irish arrived late on fight night, content to hydrate in the bars of Manhattan instead of taking in the full card. There was only one star in their universe. 10: A hard combination concluded the clinic. Serrano attempted to swing back and found fresh air. It was supposed to go like this. 'The two fights previous ended up as complete wars,' said Taylor post-fight. 'I came out of the ring battered and bruised and I'm thinking, what? 'Why am I just standing there fighting with her? I knew I was capable of using my legs just outboxing her. 'I'm just happy I was able to produce that tonight and execute the game plan that Ross has been telling me to do all along. So yeah, I'm very satisfied right now.' The belts, the banners, the headlines and the acclaim. Came, saw, conquered.
Irish Times
15 hours ago
- Irish Times
Katie Taylor erases all the question marks with her third win over Amanda Serrano
The trilogy ends. And there were hints, too, in the sweet early hours of Saturday morning that this might be all she wrote for Katie Taylor as well. After a raucous night on the fringes of Hell's Kitchen, Taylor closed the books on her riveting series of fights against Amanda Serrano and finished with an unblemished record. Just as she had promised during the week of promotion in New York, she got it done. These athletes will age and finally retire, and the record books will record that the Irish fighter ended with a perfect three wins from three against the Puerto Rican. That bare statistic reveals nothing of the closeness or true controversies or the mutual respect contained within these encounters. It was a lofty sports rivalry. But in the end, Taylor managed to erase the question marks and silence the grumbles after their previous two battles to finish with a supremely controlled performance. She owned the night. Taylor has pioneered what has been a marvel of a fighting life by executing it precisely on her own terms. So it went in New York. Madison Square Garden was something to behold. That area around Eighth and the lower 30s is a 24-hour confluence of extreme tourism and city poverty and grit. All of human life was outside the arena on Friday night. Inside, a wildly partisan and noisy sell-out crowd filled with Puerto Rican and Irish fans, both in a mood to celebrate. The previous encounters had led them to expect something primal. READ MORE 'The atmosphere was absolutely electric tonight,' Taylor said when she sat down late into the night, Madison Square Garden low-lit now and empty except for the staff who were locking up. 'And to be headlining an all-female card was an absolute privilege. These are the sort of opportunities that people didn't even think possible a few years ago. The two fights previous ended up complete wars and I came out the ring battered and bruised, and I was thinking, why am I just standing there fighting her? I knew I was capable of moving my legs and just outboxing her. And I was just happy that I was able to execute the game plan Ross [Enamait] was telling me to do all along. I used the ring a lot better tonight. My feet were a lot better tonight. I felt it was my kind of fight, and my kind of pace as well.' [ Tuning out the noise, Katie Taylor steels herself for last dance with Amanda Serrano Opens in new window ] Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano embrace after the fight. Photograph: Gary Carr/Inpho Taylor looked at peace as she spoke. In Texas last winter, her face was swollen and cut after her war with Serrano. This time, a single bruise to her cheekbone where Serrano's head actually glanced against hers. She finished the fight fresher, gliding on the edges of the danger zone and comprehensively outscoring the Puerto Rican, who was exhausted from trying to make her punches land against the elusive Irish woman. Listening to her, it was hard to predict if she will fight again. 'I don't know,' she said of the future. 'I am just going to enjoy this victory right now and sit back and reflect. I am very, very happy with tonight's performance and just the amount of work I am doing over the past few months, myself and Ross, it was a gruelling few months of preparation and I'm so glad I was able to showcase what I could do tonight.' Katie Taylor in action against Puerto Rican American boxer Amanda Serrano. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPA Make no mistake, the crowd in the Garden came in the belief that the fight would break into a gladiatorial brawl as soon as the first bell sounded and would move into uncharted country from there. As it turned out, the flashpoints of furious engagements were periodic and brief but with each one, the decibel level in the arena turned deafening. It's hard to imagine the noise levels had the athletes just forgotten their instructions and submitted to the crowd instincts and wish for a schoolyard brawl. In the second round, a familiar pattern began to establish itself: Serrano hunting, Taylor circling the ring, avoiding trouble and seeking to pick off clean punches. The dam threatened to break with 45 seconds remaining in the third, when Taylor, leading with the ultra-accurate left jab, landed three quick punches on the Puerto Rican. Serrano countered with a flurry of her own but Taylor, at 39, has lost little of her ability to become a ghost in the ring: she was gone. On it went, Serrano in the middle of the canvas, searching out Taylor, who used that wonderful footwork and pure boxing supremacy to guide her through the 10 rounds of two minutes. Judge Mark Lyson scored the fight a draw but the other two, Steve Weisfeld and Nicolas Esnault, had it emphatically in Taylor's favour, 97-93, and, in or around midnight, Taylor was still the undisputed super featherweight champion of the world. Katie Taylor makes her entrance to the fight at Madison Square Garden. Photograph: Gary Carr/Inpho The Irish crowd was delighted and it was impossible to hear what Taylor said in the ring afterwards. But she was effusive in her praise of Serrano, and of her faith, and struck an uncertain note when asked about what the future holds now. 'Maybe Croke Park?' she laughed when asked if she could promise her Irish supporters at least one more bout. 'That would be unbelievable. I said it in the ring earlier – these people are spending their hard-earned money to come over and support me. It means the world. And I can't believe this is my life – I'm heading a show in Madison Square Garden, an all-female card. Looking back at the whole journey – what an amazing ride. These are the nights I dreamed of a kid, and I am just so happy and so grateful. What an amazing champion. We created history together three times. My name will always be embedded with hers and I am very happy about that. It's amazing to have a rival like that in the sport.' Katie Taylor celebrates winning alongside her mother, Bridget. Photograph: Gary Carr/Inpho As an event, the Netflix-streamed all-women's card was a glittering success, drawing a close to sell-out crowd and giving the women's fight game an unprecedented stage. Afterwards, Taylor's promoter, Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn, beaming and wearing an Emerald green bucket cap, made the reasonable point that Taylor has been the alchemist for all of this. 'I'm not speaking on Katie's behalf, but I know she's always wanted female boxing to sit alongside men's boxing. It's not two codes. And I've always said that Katie Taylor is not just one of the greatest female fighters of all time but one of the greatest fighters of all time. And that was the barrier that she broke. 'So, we don't compare the female and the male code. It's just boxing. But. What they did tonight was give so many opportunities to so many great female fighters and big pay-days and she won't say it: it is down to her.' Katie Taylor greets fans after winning her bout with Amanda Serrano. Photograph: Gary Carr/Inpho [ Shaping the Century: 25 brilliant Irish women in 2025 Opens in new window ] Whether the sport can produce a rivalry as compelling and high-quality as Taylor and Serrano remains to be seen. Both have earned six-figure pay-days from their rivalry and thrust the women's fight game into a spotlight that would have seemed fanciful when Taylor set out on the professional circuit nine years ago. The Irish crowd stayed to give her a deafening ovation before heading back out to the delights of the island. 'I don't think anybody could deny I won tonight's fight, so it is very satisfying,' Taylor said finally. 'There was a controversy in those decisions, so I feel very, very satisfied right now that it was lights-out.'
The Irish Sun
20 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Blessed' Amanda Serrano shows her class with message to Katie Taylor on social media after third loss to Irish legend
AMANDA SERRANO praised Katie Taylor for "acting like a great inside and outside the ring" after their feud came to an end on Saturday. Advertisement 2 Katie Taylor beat Amanda Serrano for a third time on Saturday Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 Serrano paid tribute to her career rival Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile The And taking to social media, Serrano paid tribute to the Irishwoman, with whom she felt "blessed" to share the ring. The 36-year-old said: "So blessed to have shared the Ring with such an Amazing fighter @KatieTaylor "To be considered the Greatest you have to act like one. She does that both in & out the Ring. Thank you truly". Advertisement Read More on Katie Taylor While there were Indeed, Serrano's above comment was in reaction to Taylor's After the bell, the victorious Irishwoman said: "First of all, I want to thank God for an amazing victory. Thank you Jesus. "I needed a lot of help down the home stretch today. Advertisement Most read in Boxing "I want to thank Amanda Serrano, what an amazing fighter. We made history together three times. This was a historic fight. "It was a pleasure to share the ring with her and we are history makers forever." Iconic 2000s pop star looks unrecognizable after performing national anthem at Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano While one rivalry is cooling down, another is heating up to boiling point as The two rivals have been locked in a bitter feud that has seen them fight twice. Advertisement The first, in May 2023, saw Six months later, the Bray woman got her win back in Dublin to With the series locked at 1-1, the 39-year-old was asked if she would be interested in the trilogy. She Advertisement "I don't think she can sell out any stadium at all. "I think I made her more money than she deserves, to be quite honest." Chantelle Cameron responded to those comments on her Instagram Story, claiming "money is getting to your head." The 34-year-old said: "@katie_t86 be disrespectful all you want. But you shouted me out for YOUR HOMECOMING and I gave you your first loss with zero controversy. Advertisement "Dragging me back & having to headbut & hug the life out of me to win the rematch. "Now full of any excuses not to fight". DO ME A FAVOUR She followed this up with a screenshot of an Instagram post from Taylor in which the Bray Bomber called her nemesis out for their first encounter. She said: "Don't forget @katie_t86 who called who now I'm not "not worthy" enough & done me a "favour"?? Advertisement "Stay humble Katie, the @mostvaluablepromotions money is going to your head. "Don't forget @katie_t86 who called who out and you wanted me for your homecoming-I accepted. So you done me no favour I ruined your party. "Stay humble this money is going to your head that @mostvaluablepromotions @jakepaul @nakisabidarian are paying you". Cameron, who is WBC interim super lightweight champion, remains keen on fighting Taylor for a third time, Advertisement She shared a screengrab of a message from a follower advocating for such a scenario. The message read: "Just so you are aware, alot of Irish want that trilogy in Croke Park. Only fight that makes sense. "Im Irish Katie is our hero but we love you also. "Make it a record breaker. Push for Croke Park 82,000 people and it will fill twice." Advertisement Cameron responded to this message by saying: "Woke up to so many of these messages today and I'll happily return to Ireland for the 3rd time. "@mostvaluablepromotions are the ones to make it happen"
