Mike Koppinger Michael Rothstein Close ESPN Staff Writer University of Michigan used to be covered by ESPN.com and AnnArbor.com He also covered Our Lady of Paris for the Fort Wayne Journal

NEW YORK – The seconds were reduced in the race and Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano stood in the middle of the ring, not caring at all about protecting their face, their posture or anything else. Hands were constantly thrown from both sides, one after the other. Close ESPN Staff Writer

University of Michigan used to be covered by ESPN.com and AnnArbor.com He also covered Our Lady of Paris for the Fort Wayne Journal

Serrano was bleeding around her eye. Taylor is bleeding around her nose. What was described as the biggest fight in the history of women’s boxing responded to the huge advertising campaign – and two of the top three fighters of their generation did their best to end the fight on the terms they wanted. It was a beautiful match – a split 97-93, 96-93, 93-97 victory for Taylor over Serrano with Taylor retaining the undisputed lightweight title. Read the full summary of the race here … In Las Vegas, Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez will compete at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to consolidate two junior lightweight titles. Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) makes his first WBO title defense in a TKO 10th round win over Jamel Herring in October. Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) upset Miguel Berchelt in 2021 to win the WBC title and successfully defended the belt with a unanimous victory decision over Robson Conceicao in September. Mike Koppinger sums up the action in Vegas, while Michael Rothstein covers the games in New York.

Ongoing Race in Las Vegas: Oscar Valdez vs. Shakur Stevenson, 12 rounds, for Valdez’s WBC junior lightweight title and Stevenson’s WBO junior lightweight title

Valdez-Shakur analysis round-round

Round 4: Valdez eventually goes to the body after entering, but could not maintain control. Stevenson continues to pierce Valdez’s face. Effective but not yet fireworks. 10-9, Stevenson. 40-36, Stevenson. Round 3: Closer as Valdez lands some right hands early in the frame, but Stevenson immediately goes back to the jab and now mixes with some left hands on the body. Valdez tries to do this a hard fight, but he has neglected the body attack. 10-9, Stevenson. 30-27, Stevenson. Round 2: Stevenson’s piercing is still the weapon of choice. Valdez tried to overcome it with some turmoil and found success slowly, but the speed and size advantage Stevenson enjoys also seems great. 10-9, Stevenson. 20-18, Stevenson. Round 1: Shakur Stevenson dictated the rhythm with a superb punch with his south foot. Valdez rarely got over it. The best punch of the round was a strong cross from the left by Stevenson, although Valdez landed with his right hand slowly. 10-9, Stevenson. Shakur is disapproved. The crowd certainly supports Valdez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Ring announcer Mark Shunock makes the recommendations of the fighters. The fight is next! Oscar Valdez is already in the ring. Shakur Stevenson, wearing a purple and gold robe, takes the road to the ring with welterweight champion Terence Crawford behind him.

Taylor-Serrano analysis round by round

Round 10: Good defense by Taylor. Serrano, as she has managed to fight, tried to be aggressive. But Taylor’s style made it difficult. In addition, Taylor landed several punches to get the round. Taylor hurt Serrano in the last round. Taylor 10-9. 95-95. Round 9: Serrano appeared to stumble Taylor a few times and also got some good shots on her body, enough to get her round. Serrano 10-9. 86-85, Serrano. Round 8: Taylor did a good job avoiding Serrano’s advances and countered well when the opportunities arose. Taylor 10-9. 76-76. Round 7: A slower lap for both fighters. Serrano scored a few slow shots that could have been given to her, but she could have gone any way. Serrano 10-9. 67-66, Serrano. Round 6: Another close round. Taylor scored some effective shots, but Serrano kept coming and walking. Serrano also had a lot of smart ground, but Taylor may have had more. Taylor 10-9. 57-57. Round 5: Serrano dominant. Just around the corner for almost half and punishing her. Taylor countered to equalize, but Serrano scored many more effective shots as Taylor tried to push inside. Serrano 10-9. Serrano 48-47. Round 4: Taylor controlled this round. While Serrano was more aggressive, Taylor was able to respond and counterattack effectively, and landed enough to put pressure on Serrano. Taylor 10-9. 38-38. Round 3: Another short lap, but Serrano fired louder shots, including their turmoil in the last 30 seconds to take the lap. Serrano 10-9. Serrano 29-28. Round 2: Taylor showed more aggression in this round and found ways to avoid Serrano’s strength. Closer, but Taylor may have done enough in both attack and defense to get it out. Taylor 10-9. 19-19. Round 1: Amanda Serrano seemed to be the attacker throughout the round, including putting Katie Taylor in a corner for part of the round. Serrano, 10-9. Ring announcer David Diamante has just finished the introductions and the fight is about to begin. Now it’s Katie Taylor’s turn. She makes her way to the ring – very slowly – wearing a black, gold and silver robe. Amanda Serrano, wearing the red, blue and white colors of the Puerto Rican flag, walks into the ring in a crowded Madison Square Garden. Jake Paul walks with her.

Results:

Ali Walsh scores the Ibara KO that you must see in the first round

Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson, scored a spectacular KO in the first lap of his hometown debut. Ali Walsh (5-0, 4 KOs) tied on a right-hander that ended the middleweight bout against Alejandro Ibarra with 10 seconds left in the opening round. Ibarra (7-2, 2 KOs), a 28-year-old from Denver, led a four-game winning streak. Ali Walsh, 21, who became a professional in August, was leaving a second-round TKO in January. “This is just a testament to all the work I have done,” said Ali Walsh. “Things like that happen when you quit your job. I bring my grandfather back to life, and that’s why mom gets so excited because she sees her dad again and hears her dad’s name.”

Davis stops Sanchez for his fifth victory

Keyshawn Davis continued his growth with another dominant performance, this time a sixth-round TKO by Esteban Sanchez. The silver medalist connected with 157 punches with just 20 by Sanchez, a comprehensive defeat from bell to bell. The 23-year-old from Norwalk, Virginia, fired force after force at a helpless Sanchez when the referee stopped him mercilessly, with 16 seconds left in Round 6. Davis (5-0, 4 KOs) could fight for a world title in 2023. Sanchez (18-2, 8 KOs), from Mexico, meanwhile, lost for the third time in four games.

Smith stops Vargas in excellent performance

Junior middleweight Liam Smith, left, bled Jessie Vargas to a TKO victory in the 10th round at Madison Square Garden in New York. Stephen McCarthy / Sportsfile via Getty Images It was too much in the end. Liam Smith kept throwing and throwing and Jesse Vargas could do nothing. For a few laps it was like that, and in the 10th lap, Vargas’s corner had seen enough. Their fighter was not going to win the fight. And he was punished very much. So they threw a white towel at Round 10, saving their fighter more barbarism. That gave Smith, from Liverpool, England, his second consecutive knockout victory, this time over Vargas in the co-main event. His supporters in the crowd punched and bounced as if they were in one of the clubs in the Meatpacking area of ​​this city, with Smith raising them through the ring.

Punch Statistics

DrillingVargasSmithTotal landing139245Total drop654816Percentage21% 30% Jabs landed3224Jabs thrown272297Percent12% 8% Power landed107221Power drop382519Percent28% 43% -u Courtes Smith (31-3-1, 18 KOs) was dominant throughout. It was a tough fight until the last two rounds, when Vargas struggled to create a counterattack. By the middle of the fight, the white trunks of both boxers were stained with blood. While it was a back-and-forth fight, Smith had consistently kept Vargas (29-4-1, 11 KOs) on the ropes. While Vargas, from Las Vegas, defended well from this position, Smith was clearly the attacker, throwing varying amounts of powerful shots and shots into the body of Vargas, whose face had been bleeding since the start of the seventh round. As “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants continued to pass through Madison Square Garden, Smith pushed forward his constant attack. By the end of the seventh, Vargas was receiving many – many – punishments. Throughout the battle, Smith brought down Vargas. Each round was almost a copy of the previous one – Vargas was trying to counterattack, but Smith was just constantly pushing forward with technical competence and accuracy. By the ninth, Vargas was barely punching back. He was protecting himself, but most likely he was trying to survive. In Las Vegas: Raymond Muratalla (14-0, 12 KOs), 25, from Fontana, California, defeated Jeremy Hill (16-3, 11 KOs), 29, of New Orleans in the third round to score his ninth consecutive victory with a break.

Crews-Dezurn wins undisputed super middleweight championship

Franchon Crews-Dezurn, left, combined all four major world super middleweight titles in a unanimous victory over Elin Cederroos. Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Franchon Crews-Dezurn started to get a little excited as she raised her arms in a bending pose. He knew what would follow. One by one, the belts went into her arms, an honor bestowed on a champion and even greater on an undisputed champion.

Punch Statistics

PunchesCrews-DezurnCederroosTotal landing171108Total drop439511Precent39% 21% Jabs landed496Jabs thrown173201Percent28% 3% Power landed122102Powercented266310Percent3% -u% Boxy% By unanimous decision – 99-91, 99-91, 97-93 – on Saturday night, he united all four major world super middleweight titles by beating Elin Cederroos. “I do not even know,” said an excited Cruz-Desurn in the ring …