BOXING undoubtedly belonged to the girls last year after they served up most of the magical moments, fiercest fights and breath-taking achievements in 2022. So, it should come as no surprise, just one month into the New Year, the first major title fight of 2023 is all-female.
Amanda Serrano, one half of last year’s ‘Fight of the Year’ with Katie Taylor, returns to Madison Square Garden in her native New York looking to add the final piece to her domination of the featherweight division.
The 34-year-old, who has held titles from 115lb all the way up to 140lb, takes on Erika Cruz Hernandez aiming to be crowned a unified champion (in possession of all four world championship belts) for the first time.
Serrano is also closing in on a lucrative and legacy-defining rematch with Irish star Taylor, which – according to promoter Eddie Hearn – is already scheduled for May 20th in Dublin.
Their first fight exceeded expectation last April, despite the fact it received unprecedented fanfare and was the first women’s boxing match in history to headline MSG.
Best Fights of 2022;
Katie Taylor SD10 Amanda Serrano.
04/30/2022. pic.twitter.com/TWPfIiOGkp— 𝗧𝗮𝗵𝗷 𝗥. 🥀 (@BoxingJournaIs) September 8, 2022
But the split decision victory in favour of Taylor failed to satisfy either fighter or fans appetite for the matchup, setting up the dream rematch.
However, first Serrano must take care of business this weekend and Cruz, with just one loss on her 16-fight record, has the chance to completely change her own life in victory.
The 32-year-old southpaw may only have 3 knockouts on her 15-1 record, but she has deceptive power and is typically Mexican with a gritty, all-action style – born in back street unlicenced boxing underbelly of Mexico City.
Trained by her father and former pro Guillermo Cruz, Erika became a world champion in 2021 after a bloody war with veteran multi-time champion Jelena Mrdjenovich ended after seven rounds.
She defended the belt later that year against compatriot Melissa Esquivel and then produced the performance of her life in September with defence number two, once more outclassing 50+ fight veteran Mrdjenovich like nobody has ever done before.
The fundamental difference in this fight is Serrano is still very much at her peak. Despite this being her 47th paid contest, the Puerto Rican-American golden girl is only just truly cashing in on a lifetime of service to the sweet science.
She moved up two weight classes to face Taylor and was rightfully aggrieved to not have her hand raised. But she also cashed her first multi-million-dollar cheque that night and is crucially showing no signs of contentment.
Unbeaten and untouchable at 125lb, Cruz comes into Serrano’s world with everything to prove and will soon discover all the heart and will in the world isn’t enough against the pound-for-pound best.
Cruz will be a bundle of energy early on and may even earn her fair share of the opening exchanges. But Serrano’s experience and skills cannot be overlooked and by the middle rounds the size of the task will likely hit the South American as hard as the champion.
