Serrano excited title defense will have same rules as the men
Format for women's featherweight championship fight against Ramos will consist of 12 three-minute rounds
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Undisputed women’s featherweight champion Amanda Serrano has accomplished everything she ever dreamed of in boxing.
Among the achievements that will undoubtedly secure her a place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame:
For years she has been one of the best in the world pound-for-pound.
She has won world titles in seven divisions, a record in women’s boxing.
She’s a reigning undisputed champion.
Her disputed split decision loss to undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor in April 2022 was the most commercially successful women’s fight of all time — it sold out Madison Square Garden as the first female main event at the famed arena — and in the ring earned wide recognition as the best female fight in history.
And, as she said, “I’ve made lots of money.”
So, what else is there for the 35-year-old Serrano, who has been a pro for 14 years, to do?
How about having a championship fight under the same conditions as men, meaning 12 rounds that go for three minutes each rather than the women’s standard of 10 rounds that are two minutes in duration?
That is exactly what Serrano will do when she defends her crown against WBO interim titlist and mandatory challenger Danila Ramos in the Most Valuable Promotions main event on Friday (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
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The idea to fight the longer bout came from Jordan Maldonado, Serrano’s trainer and manager, and then Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder of MVP along with Jake Paul, worked with the Florida Athletic Commission to get it approved.
Serrano (45-2-1, 30 KOs), a Puerto Rican fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, liked the idea is excited to participate in what is believed to be the first women’s bout using those rules since Layla McCarter won two lightweight title bouts in Las Vegas in 2007.
“I’m just an athlete. I’m the actor in this big amazing movie that my trainer/manager Jordan Maldonado is the director of,” Serrano told Fight Freaks Unite. “We want to always do something outside the box. It was his idea to become a seven-division world champion. I just roll with it and decided let’s do it. I’ve done pretty much everything I wanted to do in my career in boxing and now it’s time to set the standard for the women who are the future of the sport of boxing. And the only thing I haven’t done is the 12 three-minute rounds.
“We decided let’s do it. We train for it just like the men. Now that I have the exposure and the team that is backing me up, we can show that woman are willing and capable of doing it.”
Serrano would like to see women’s fights routinely contested under the same rules that men fight even though it is common in women’s sports to have different rules than men.
In tennis, for example, women play best of three sets while men play best of five. In the WNBA, the women use smaller basketballs and the three-point line is closer than in the NBA.
That doesn’t make it right, Serrano said.
“I’m also an MMA fighter and the MMA girls, they (fight) five minutes (per round like men),” Serrano said. “My first (MMA) fight was five-minute rounds. I’ve done it. (Women) are capable and this is not the first time (in boxing). My sister (Cindy) actually fought Layla McCarter for three-minute rounds (in 2008). It didn’t go 12 rounds; it was a six-rounder. But it’s been done.
“Women want to show that we can do it and I think we can show a little more. We have the two minutes and it’s exciting and I don’t mind fighting the two minutes. It benefits me. But I think three minutes would also benefit me. I think three minutes will help us get more knockouts or showcase our skills.”
Not only was Serrano gung ho for the amended rules, she said Ramos (12-2, 1 KO), 38, of Brazil, was also.
“It took two seconds. It was really fast to get her and her team to agree to it because a lot of the women now are willing to do it and I guess it’s just to show that we’re here and we want to prove that we’re serious in this sport and we do the same things (as men),” Serrano said. “We train the three minutes. I go to the gym and the standard boxing bell is three minutes, so I’m not going to go and say, ‘Oh, listen, I’m a woman. Can you change the bell to two minutes?’ No.”
The only disappointment about the setup for Friday’s bout is that while the WBO, IBF and WBA will sanction the bout, Serrano’s WBC title won’t be at stake. The WBC has long been against extending female bouts for reasons it says are based on medical research.
“I respect their decision,” Serrano said. “My job is to go out there and perform and show that we are capable of doing it and maybe one day in the future they will change their mind.”
Either way, Serrano is living her best life. She still enjoys training and the fights and the money she is making after toiling for miniscule purses for most of her career. She gives a lot of the credit and thanks to Paul and Bidarian, who have advocated for women’s boxing since founding MVP in 2021.
“It’s been the best decision I ever made in my career,” Serrano said of signing with MVP, which helped her gain exposure by putting her on Paul’s high-profile undercards. “I’ve been a world champion, a unified champion for so many years, but it’s Nakisa and Jake Paul and MVP that shined that spotlight on me and just showcased not just me but women’s boxing. Because of them I’ve made lots of money and I’ve been treated very well.
“I’ve been getting amazing sponsorships, which I had never gotten before. I’ve done this sport for 14 years and doing everything I’m supposed to do, but thanks to Nakisa and Jake Paul for shining that light on me. I’ve been truly, truly blessed.”
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Serrano photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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