Katie Taylor continues to lead the way in the ESPN women’s pound-for-pound rankings. But the battle for No. 2 continues after a great weekend of boxing.
Taylor (21-0, 6 KOs) defeated Amanda Serrano (42-2-1, 30 KOs) by split decision in one of the best fights of the year. A back-and-forth battle in front of a packed Madison Square Garden in New York was decided by scorecards of 96-93 and 97-93 for Taylor and 96-94 for Serrano. A rematch later this year in Taylor’s home country of Ireland is being discussed.
The loss has Serrano dropping a spot to two-division undisputed champion Claressa Shields. However, ESPN’s Michael Rothstein decided to move up Serrano one spot to No. 2 on his list, even in defeat.
“Yes, Amanda Serrano lost to Taylor on Saturday night, but the fight could have easily been a draw or a Serrano victory. That’s how close the fight was,” Rothstein said. “It was an epic event, and Serrano should not drop because of it.
“I removed Christina Hammer from my list — nothing against Hammer, but there are other deserving fighters and Hammer has fought once in the last two years. I replaced her with Dina Thorslund, who has been active and strong in two divisions. That pushed Savannah Marshall and Chantelle Cameron up one slot each. Hammer could end up back on a future list, for sure. “
Another fighter making a move is Frenchon Crews-Dezurn, who became the undisputed super middleweight champion with a decision victory over Elin Cederroos on the Taylor-Serrano undercard.
Who else made the top 10? Here’s the list:
Note: Results are through Wednesday.
1. KATIE TAYLOR Previous ranking: No. 1
RECORD: 21-0, 6 KOs
DIVISION: Lightweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (SD10) Amanda Serrano, April 30
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
2. CLARESSA SHIELDS 
Previous ranking: No. 3
RECORD: 12-0, 2 KOs
DIVISION: Junior middleweight and middleweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Ema Kozin, Feb. 5
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
3. AMANDA SERRANO 
Previous ranking: No. 2
RECORD: 42-2-1, 30 KOs
DIVISION: Featherweight unified champion
LAST FIGHT: L (SD10) Katie Taylor, April 30
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
4. JESSICA MCCASKILL 
Previous ranking: No. 4
RECORD: 11-2, 4 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO7) Kandi Wyatt, Dec. 4
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
5. MIKAELA MAYER Previous ranking: No. 5
RECORD: 17-0, 5 KOs
DIVISION: Junior lightweight unified champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Jennifer Han, April 9
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
6. SENIESA ESTRADA Previous ranking: 9
RECORD: 22-0, 9 KOs
DIVISION: Junior flyweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (KO4) Maria Santizo, Dec. 18
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
7. SAVANNAH MARSHALL Previous ranking: 9
RECORD: 11-0, 9 KOs
DIVISION: Middleweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (KO3) Femke Hermans, April 2
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
8. DELFINE PERSOON Previous ranking: No. 7
RECORD: 45-3, 18 KOs
DIVISION: Lightweight
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO4) Beatriz Aguilar, Nov. 1
NEXT FIGHT: May 14 vs. Elhem Mekhaled
T-9. CHRISTINA HAMMER Previous ranking: No. 8
RECORD: 26-1, 12 KOs
DIVISION: Super middleweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO1) Daniele Bastieri, Dec. 3
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
T-9. FRANCHON CREWS-DEZURN Previous ranking: N/R
RECORD: 8-1, 2 KOs
DIVISION: Super middleweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Elin Cederroos, April 30
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
The formula
The rankings are based on a descending points system, with a first-place vote receiving 10 points, a second-place vote receiving nine points and so on.
Others receiving votes: Alycia Baumgardner (5), Chantelle Cameron (4), Hyun Choi (2), Dina Thorslund (2), Cecilia Braekhus (1), Marlen Esparza (1), Jessica Nery Plata (1), Jackie Nava (1).
How our experts voted
Michael Rothstein: 1. Taylor, 2. Serrano, 3. Shields, 4. McCaskill, 5. Mayer, 6. Estrada, 7. Persoon, 8. Marshall, 9. Cameron, 10. Thorslund
Timothy Bradley Jr.: 1. Taylor, 2. Shields, 3. Serrano, 4. McCaskill, 5. Mayer, 6. Estrada, 7. Crews-Dezurn, 8. Marshall, 9. Baumgardner, 10. Thorslund
Nick Parkinson: 1. Taylor, 2. Serrano, 3. Shields, 4. McCaskill, 5. Marshall, 6. Mayer, 7. Estrada, 8. Persoon, 9. Cameron, 10. Nery Plata
Salvador Rodriguez: 1. Taylor, 2. Shields, 3. Serrano, 4. McCaskill, 5. Mayer, 6. Estrada, 7. Crews-Dezurn, 8. Marshall, 9. Persoon, 10. Baumgardner
Bernardo Pilatti: 1. Taylor, 2. Serrano, 3. Shields, 4. McCaskill, 5. Mayer, 6. Persoon, 7. Hammer, 8. Estrada, 9. Marshall, 10. Nava
Charlie Moynihan: 1. Taylor, 2. Serrano, 3. Shields, 4. McCaskill, 5. Mayer, 6. Persoon, 7. Hammer, 8. Estrada, 9. Choi, 10. Braekhus
Kel Dansby: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. McCaskill, 4. Serrano, 5. Mayer, 6. Estrada, 7. Marshall, 8. Hammer, 9. Persoon, 10. Baumgardner
ESPN experts’ poll
First place: Taylor (6), Shields (1)
Second place: Serrano (4), Shields (2), Taylor (1)
Third place: Shields (4), Serrano (2), McCaskill (1)
Fourth place: McCaskill (6), Serrano (1)
Fifth place: Mayer (6), Marshall (1)
Sixth place: Estrada (4), Persoon (2), Mayer (1)
Seventh place: Crews-Dezurn (2), Hammer (2), Persoon (1), Estrada (1), Marshall (1)
Eighth place: Marshall (3), Estrada (2), Persoon (1), Hammer (1)
Ninth place: Baumgardner (2), Cameron (2), Marshall (1), Persoon (1), Choi (1)
10th place: Thorslund (2), Baumgardner (1), Braekhus (1), Nava (1), Nery Plata (1), Esparza (1)