Katie Taylor edges Amanda Serrano in thrilling and historic fight at Madison Square Garden

Katie Taylor retained her world lightweight titles in a thrilling and historic bout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night after edging Amanda Serrano in a split decision.

In the first women's boxing fight to headline the famous arena in New York City, Taylor looked in danger of getting stopped midway through the contest but managed to come through on two of the three judges' scorecards.

Both fighters were cut as they exchanged powerful punches during the two-minute rounds — one shorter than men’s bouts. In the end, Taylor did just a little more to stay undefeated in front of an announced sold-out crowd of 19,187 that seemed spilt between Taylor’s Irish and Serrano’s Puerto Rican fans.

After the fighters traded punches during a slugfest of a 10th and final round, Taylor emerged with scores of 96-93 and 97-93 on two of the judges’ cards, while Serrano won 96-94 on the other.

Taylor (21-0) was wobbled and her face bloodied in the fifth round, but she hung tough and found the range on her right hand with excellent counter punching.

Serrano (42-2-1), a seven-division champion, lost for the first time since 2012.

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