By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Katie Taylor continually beat Eva Wahlstrom to the punch Saturday night.
By the time their 10-round lightweight title fight was over, Taylor had won every round on each of the three judges’ scorecards on the Canelo Alvarez-Rocky Fielding undercard at Madison Square Garden. Bernard Bruni, Larry Hazzard Jr. and Dave Sutherland all scored the fight 100-90 for the 2012 Olympic gold medalist.
Taylor’s impressive victory over the previously unbeaten Wahlstrom enabled Ireland’s Taylor (12-0, 5 KOs) to retain her IBF and WBA 135-pound titles. The 32-year-old Taylor made her fifth defense of the WBA championship and the third defense of her IBF belt.
“I thought it was a very good performance,” Taylor said. “[Wahlstrom is] obviously a fantastic champion and a great, great fighter. I knew it was going to be a great showcase for women’s boxing. It was such a privilege to fight here in Madison Square Garden in front of so many Irish people, so thank you so much for the support.”
Taylor said following her dominant win against Finland’s Wahlstrom (22-1-1, 3 KOs) that she wants to fight Amanda Serrano next.
Brooklyn’s Serrano (35-1-1, 26 KOs) owns the WBO junior welterweight title, but she is willing to move down to 135 pounds to fight Taylor. Serrano, 30, has won world titles in four weight classes, as low as the bantamweight division (118 pounds).
“The goal is to be the undisputed lightweight champion of the world,” Taylor said. “Obviously, one of the biggest fighters out there is Amanda Serrano, and that’s a huge, huge fight.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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