Amanda gets Katie rematch date after beating Cruz  

Serrano will now receive a second shot at undisputed lightweight and Ring magazine champion Katie Taylor 22-0 (6) of Ireland in a bout that is slated to take place in Dublin on May 20

Amanda gets Katie rematch date after beating Cruz  

Amanda ‘The Real Deal’ Serrano 44-2-1 (30) secured the biggest payday of her career with her gutsy unanimous decision win over Erika ‘Dinamita’ Cruz 15-2 (3) at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, but she had to walk through hell to do it.

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican southpaw was defending her WBC, WBO, and IBF featherweight titles against WBA counterpart Cruz, 32, a tough-as-nails fellow lefty who hails from Mexico City.

Cruz capitalized on Serrano’s slow start, engaging the unified champion in back-and-forth action that was a precursor of things to come. In the third round, a nasty-looking cut opened up on Cruz’s forehead after an accidental head clash and she had to battle with the blood as well as her determined opponent for the rest of the bout.


The rounds were close at the halfway point of the bout but 47-fight veteran Serrano rocked Cruz in the sixth and took control of the fight to run away the winner by scores of 98-92, 98-92, and 97-93.

With the victory, Serrano, who is already The Ring champion, becomes the undisputed featherweight champion of the world.

“She’s a Mexican champion,” Serrano said. “And we knew that and I said it from the very beginning. I knew she wasn’t just gonna let me take her belt. She worked hard for this, I worked hard for mine. And that’s what we expected, that’s what we trained for. But I wouldn’t expect any less than that.”

Serrano will now receive a second shot at undisputed lightweight and Ring magazine champion Katie Taylor 22-0 (6) of Ireland in a bout that is slated to take place in Dublin on May 20.

Their first bout took place at Madison Square Garden in New York almost a year ago with the Irish superstar edging a split decision victory to retain her undisputed lightweight championship by scores of 96-93, 97-93, and 94-96 in a hotly contested fight.

“You know, Katie is a true champion,” Serrano said of The Ring’s 135-pound champion after her victory over Cruz. “And she came here to New York and [we] fulfilled both of our dreams fighting each other. Now she deserves to fight in Ireland. And it’s gonna be a bigger and better fight over there.”

The 34-year-old Taylor took in all the action from ringside and was invited into the square circle after the bout.

“My whole team was cheering [Serrano] on because we want this fight, undisputed champion versus undisputed champion,” Taylor said. “The last fight was an epic fight and I think the next one is gonna be the same.”

Former amateur star Taylor won her first world title in her seventh pro bout and became undisputed in her 14th outing, defeating a slew of top names along the way.

“Well, this is still the biggest fight in women’s boxing,” Taylor said. “And I only want the biggest fights. Yeah, this is exactly what I want.