RTE’s Paul O’Flynn posts glowing tribute to ‘lovely person’ Katie Taylor

Having followed her career all over the world, RTE Sport’s Paul O’Flynn took to social media this week to pay tribute to the seemingly invincible Katie Taylor.

The Bray fighter retained her undisputed world super lightweight title following a tense showdown with Amanda Serrano in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Taylor has now said she will take some time to consider whether she will box again.

The 39-year-old, who had won their previous two meetings, triumphed on a majority decision at Madison Square Garden, with two of the judges scoring the bout 97-93 in Taylor’s favour.

The third judge was unable to split them after 10 tight rounds, scoring it 95-95.

Following the epic trilogy, RTE’s Paul O’Flynn took to X to pay tribute to the fighter and ‘lovely person’.

‘A fresh Katie Taylor in NY this am! Whatever comes next, I’ve been honoured to follow her career for RTE Sport from Bray to Barbados, China, the Olympics and an epic Serrano trilogy,’ he wrote.

‘A champion, amazing ambassador for our country & a lovely person. We’re lucky to have her.’

Taylor definitively ruled out a fourth meeting with the Puerto Rican Serrano after Saturday’s bout but was cagey when asked whether she would continue to fight.

‘I don’t know, I just don’t want to fight Amanda Serrano again. She punches too hard,’ said a happy Taylor after the bout.

‘I have a huge ton of respect for Amanda, she’s such a warrior.

‘It’s a pleasure to share a ring with her,’ added Taylor.

‘We have made history three times. We are history makers forever.

‘I thought I was boxing very smart, she wasn’t able to catch me very much tonight. But it’s always close against Amanda.’

Serrano, who has suffered three of her four professional losses to Taylor, said she had tried to work ‘smarter not harder’.

‘We tried to stay with the long punches and one-twos, and it just wasn’t enough,’ she said.

The third meeting between the two was cagier than their previous clashes, simmering throughout with much fewer punches landed.

Neither fighter was able to impose themselves early on, with just three punches connecting in the opening round.

With both boxers operating from more of a distance than their previous meetings, Taylor looked to control the centre of the ring and landed some good counter-shots as she drew Serrano onto her.

Several rounds could have gone either way as the fight built to a tense climax, Serrano coming forwards more and forcing Taylor into a corner in the fifth round, but the champion fought her way out.

Taylor was marked under the right eye in the eighth, but edged the final two rounds to secure the verdict, much to the delight of the many Irish fans present in the Madison Square Garden Arena.