Kudos to Katie Taylor and Amanda Serraro, Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos - Eyeroll at the Jake Paul - Mike Tyson "fight"

There were two excellent fights last Friday night. 

And neither Mike Tyson nor Jake Paul participated.  

Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano went to war again.

The fight was intense and symbolized what boxing is supposed to be about.

Guts and glory, baby. 

Dennis Taylor and I wrote about it in Intimate Warfare, our book on Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward and their epic fights.

We called what they did, "beautiful brutality"

The fight was close - a seesaw battle of precision versus power. I watched it twice. I had Serrano edging it the first time. Opon a rewatch with the sound down - I had Taylor winning it by a point. 

That close. 

Two close fights that could have gone way. 

The second bout had more blood. An accidental headbutt caused a deep gash over the left eye of Serrano. It looked and was bad. Many fans at AT@T Stadium figured the fight would be stopped. But it wasn’t. Taylor and Serrano returned to the dark side, fighting and digging down. By the end, crimson escaped from both of them.

Taylor won by a point on each of the judge’s cards. She’s not dirty - just tough and gritty.  

Earlier in the evening, Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos went 12 ferocious rounds. For five rounds, it was all Barrios. He was cruising. He knocked Ramos down with a straight right in round two. The fight was considered a showcase for Barrios. He was showing well until getting caught with a wicked shot he didn’t see in round six.

Ramos, a 13-year veteran, was alive. He stunned Barrios numerous times for the rest of the bout. Barrios came on strong late, finding the will to fight back. 

The decision was a popular draw. 

Four rounds of Paul and Tyson were all I could handle. Only positives I can see is Tyson went the distance and Paul has improved. I wish the madness would stop, but it won’t, not when 70,000 people show up to see it. 

Taylor, Serrano, Barrios and Ramos represent what boxing is supposed to be about. 

A big THANK YOU to them.