Taylor v Serrano delivers on the breathless hype to join boxing classics | Bryan Armen Graham

Katie Taylor’s split-decision win against Amanda Serrano thrilled Madison Square Garden on landmark night for women’s sport

What was billed as the biggest night in the history of women’s boxing somehow exceeded the breathless hype that preceded it. Whenever Katie Taylor was shown on the Jumbotron in the hours leading up to the main event on Saturday, the steady roar of the crowd jilted to ear-splitting volumes. It was the same for Amanda Serrano, only slightly louder. That crackling energy built throughout the evening, amid lusty singalongs of Wonderwall, Sweet Caroline and The Fields of Athenry, to the type of atmosphere not seen in the big room at Madison Square Garden since Félix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto.

And that was before the fight itself. And what a fight it was: high-intensity combat between two top operators over 10 white-knuckle rounds before a sold-out crowd divided by their allegiances but united in full-throated, well-lubricated enthusiasm.