| Coverage: Reaction and highlights on the BBC Sport web site & app from 11:00 GMT on Sunday, 5 February |
Amanda Serrano’s rematch with Katie Taylor was confirmed after she grew to become undisputed featherweight world champion with a unanimous factors win over Erika Cruz in New York on Saturday.
The three judges scored the combat 98-92 98-92 97-93 in Serrano’s favour.
Ireland’s Taylor, who beat Serrano on factors final April, joined the Puerto Rican in the ring to say the rematch would happen on 20 May in Dublin.
“This is greater than a dream come true,” stated light-weight champion Taylor.
“My debut in Ireland in opposition to Amanda Serrano, ‘The Real Deal’ Amanda Serrano. This is unimaginable. The final combat was epic, and I count on nothing much less for the following one.”
Taylor is undisputed champion in the light-weight division, whereas 34-year-old seven-weight champion Serrano grew to become the primary Puerto Rican fighter to unify all of the belts in a division.
Also on the Madison Square Garden card, American Alycia Baumgardner grew to become undisputed champion in the super-featherweight division.
The 28-year-old continued her meteoric rise with victory over France’s Elhem Mekhaled.
Baumgardner twice knocked down the challenger earlier than being awarded the victory 99-89, 99-89, 98-90 on factors.
It is the primary time two new undisputed champions have been topped in a single night time in the four-belt period.
Serrano too robust for Cruz
Serrano went into the competition as a robust favorite in her forty seventh skilled combat, and seventeenth with a world title on the road.
But Cruz’s aggressive model made issues troublesome for her early on earlier than she settled into what proved to be an intense encounter with the pair continually throwing punches at one another.
Cruz suffered a reduce to her head in the third spherical after an unintentional conflict and regardless of the worry that the combat might be stopped, she continued to combat onerous.
Serrano got here near pulling down her opponent in the sixth spherical, however Cruz held on earlier than struggling her first loss in virtually seven years.
“Erika was a Mexican champion, she labored onerous, that is what we skilled for,” stated Serrano. “I did not count on something lower than what she gave me this night time.
“They despatched me again to fundamentals and I used to be listening to my nook who requested me to go 1-2, which labored.”
Much of the discuss earlier than the combat had been in regards to the rematch between Serrano and Taylor with the Irishwoman ringside on Saturday night time.
The 2012 Olympic champion beat Serrano by a cut up factors choice after they met in the primary ladies’s bout to headline a boxing card at Madison Square Garden final April.
Their rematch is scheduled to happen at Dublin’s 3Arena after negotiations between the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and promoters Matchroom to stage it at Croke Park fell through over “safety prices”.
But on Friday, Irish blended martial arts fighter Conor McGregor offered to provide £500,000 to pay for the safety invoice.
