WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL BOXING great Amanda Serrano will fight for a world title at a record-equalling sixth weight in September as her elder sister, Cindy, continues preparation for her showdown with Katie Taylor at the home of the Boston Celtics six weeks later.
The younger Serrano [34-1-1, 26KOs] has previously held championship belts at bantamweight (118lbs), super-bantamweight (122lbs), featherweight (126lbs), super-featherweight (130lbs) and in Taylor’s lightweight division (135lbs).
On Saturday 8 September, she’ll step up to the 140-pound mark to face Yamila Esther Reynoso [11-4-3] for the vacant WBO World light-welterweight strap. Their bout will take place at Barclays Center in Serrano’s adopted hometown of Brooklyn, on the undercard of Danny Garcia’s all-American WBC world-title showdown with fellow former welterweight champ Shawn Porter.
Should ‘The Real Deal’ have her hand raised, she’ll join Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya as one of three fighters to have held a ‘major’ (WBC, WBA, IBF or WBO) world title belt in six weight classes.
1 Month from today on September 8th at the @barclayscenter I’ll be moving up 4 weight classes from 122lbs to 140lbs to make history & become The Only Female & Puerto Rican Fighter to ever WIN a World Title in a 6th Division. Thanks to my Team & Fans, we’re doing it TOGETHER 😉🙏 pic.twitter.com/LLANzeAnOv
— Amanda Serrano (@Serranosisters) August 8, 2018
“I’m super excited to be fighting for a world title in my sixth weight class,” said Serrano.
“My opponent is really a welterweight, having defended her Argentinean 147-pound title by knockout in her last fight, and is dropping down one division to face me.
“I am coming up four divisions for this shot. I’m sure Reynoso will rehydrate back up to her natural weight after the weigh-in, but this is a risk worth taking. She’s never been stopped either, so I know she’s durable.
“This is a tremendous card to be a part of with Garcia vs. Porter as the main event. My promoter, Lou DiBella, has big things lined up for me, and I am eager to take on all challenges.”
The 29-year-old Puerto Rican is ranked second in the Boxing Writers Association of America’s female pound-for-pound list, and is hellbent on fighting Katie Taylor, currently unranked, in what could potentially be the first women’s superfight to transcend the sport on a transatlantic basis since Christy Martin’s 1996 pay-per-view fight with Drogheda’s Deirdre Gogarty in 1996.
Taylor, too, has openly called for the fight but must first contend with Cindy Serrano, the elder sister who is currently the WBO World featherweight champion but has previously fought as heavy as welterweight.
In a somewhat incendiary interview with The42 last week, Taylor’s manager Brian Peters called on Amanda Serrano to bolster her public profile to ensure her own inevitable clash with fellow female fighting great Taylor can captivate on a massive scale, citing Serrano’s relative lack of televised fights as an example of why his charge is the clear ‘A-side’ in their equation.
“Now, I know it has been difficult for women’s professional boxing to get on TV – I can’t pretend it hasn’t been – and you can blame whoever you want for that,” Peters said. “But at the same time, for someone as good as Serrano, why has it been so difficult? How is Katie doing it?”
He later added of Serrano’s 2011 stoppage of Kimberly Connor, whom Taylor vanquished live on Sky Box Office on 28 July:
I’d just like to ask Amanda if there’s any way we can watch her fight with Kimberly, because I can’t find footage of it anywhere; I don’t think the fight was archived anywhere. I’m not sure there was a single camera rolling when that fight took place. It’s a bit like the old story: if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it does it still make a noise?
Serrano, as is her wont, took ‘Peter”s constructive criticism with a grain of salt.
Like it says Cindy & I agreed to fight Katie. My sister is already doing it. When they send me the contract I’ll SIGN it 2. Whomever Peter is can rest assure of that. As for who should I fight IS NONE OF HIS BS I’m Already where I’m supposed to be. SHUT UP & send the contract 😉
— Amanda Serrano (@Serranosisters) August 5, 2018
And though her bout versus Reynoso won’t be part of the televised portion of September’s Garcia-Porter card, it will be broadcast live on both Showtime’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Watch @Serranosisters fight for a world title in a 6th weight division 9/8 LIVE 7PM ET on Facebook and YouTube ahead of #GarciaPorter. pic.twitter.com/aqdBYFfd2S
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 9, 2018
Serrano’s sole career defeat as a professional came at the hands of Frida Wallberg when she dropped a points decision in 2012. Since then, she’s won 20 consecutive fights, 17 of them inside the distance.
Should Taylor see off her sister, Cindy, in October, a fight between the Bray woman and ‘The Real Deal’ is expected to land in the first half of 2019.
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