Katie Taylor says her victory over Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden was the 'best moment of her career.'

The Bray native defeated Serrano on a split points victory in New York on Saturday night to retain her status as the undisputed lightweight champion of the world.

The fight was the first-ever women's contest to headline the iconic venue.

It lived up to expectations too as it saw Taylor dominate the opening rounds before Serrano took control and then Taylor dug deep to win the last couple of rounds.

Overall, the judges scored it 94-96, 97-93, 96-93 in Taylor's favour.

Speaking afterward she said she never thought anything would top the feeling of winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics but this did.

"You know everyone was saying come into this fight that it was the biggest fight in women's boxing history, but I think it actually exceeded everything people were talking about.

"This weekend and even walking down to the ring today just looking at a packed stadium, unbelievable stuff. This was absolutely a special, special moment.

"The best night of my career for sure. I wasn't sure anything could reach my Olympic gold medal moment, but tonight was absolutely the best moment of my career.

"A re-match would be absolutely phenomenal, and if it was in Dublin we could sell out Croke Park I'd say, 90,000 people. That would be unbelievable.

"We've seen something special here tonight. Imagine fighting in front of 80,000 or 90,000 people in Croke Park.

"Absolutely that can happen."

The fight was Serrano's first loss since 2012 and just the second of her 45-fight career.

She was magnanimous in defeat and paid tribute to Taylor after, calling her an inspiration.

"Katie is a great champion.

"She's undefeated and undisputed, I'm truly honoured to share the ring. Women can sell, women can fight and women can put on a hell of a show."