Shakur Stevenson (18-0), 24, came to the WBO Championship (30-1) as the WBC Champion and fought for the title of WBC Champion. In a battle in Las Vegas, Stevenson justified his favorite status and won a sure victory by points (117: 100, 118: 109 and 118: 109).
Stevenson sent Valdes down in the sixth round, and at the end of the fight it was obvious that he was far ahead in points. The board tried to escape with an unexpected knockout in the final round, but failed, and in the last ten seconds of the fight, Stevenson had already raised his hands and began to celebrate victory, earning a roar for the fans.
After the fight, Stevens praised his opponent for the fight. For the board, this was the first loss since the 2012 Olympics, while Stevenson himself can be proud of the 2016 Olympic silver medal.
Coronation complete????@BoostMobile x #ValdezStevenson pic.twitter.com/rUxzgwAzRj
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 1, 2022
Meanwhile, the famous Madison Square Garden in New York hosted a fight night for the first time, in which the main event was a women’s boxing fight. Katie Taylor’s defense of all lightweight titles against Amanda Serrano was considered the biggest event in women’s boxing, with both wrestlers receiving at least $ 1 million in royalties.
The fight paid off, with Irish boxer Katie Taylor (21-0) and Puerto Rican boxer Amanda Serrano (42-2-1) performing spectacularly, but Taylor won, defending all his lightweight titles and retaining the undisputed champion.
Serrano spent a great fifth round, crossing his opponent’s nose with active attacks and looking for an opportunity to put an end to the fight with a knockout, but Taylor survived and then braked for the next two rounds to regain the lead in the final round with little effort.
The judges split, and one judge ruled in favor of Serrano (96:94), while the other two weighed the cups in favor of Taylor with decisions 97:93 and 96:93, who won by a split judge.
Taylor represents Matchroom Boxing while Serrano joined Jake Paul’s agency, and before the fight, Paul had bet on Eddie Hern to win his boxer for one million dollars. Before the fight, however, it turned out that these bets were not confirmed, because the promoters are not allowed to make such bets at all. Instead, they were engaged to something else, and it is reported that Taylor’s victory means that Paul will have to agree to fight himself against one of Hurne’s boxers. Paul already managed to oppose the judges’ decision and demand a retaliation for Taylor.
WHAT A FINAL ROUND!!!! Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano will be a fight to remember. Incredible fight. #TaylorSerrano pic.twitter.com/envzaa3Axu
— FightBiz (@FightBizz) May 1, 2022
