Amanda Serrano will climb back up the scale for a two-step process towards claiming a superfight.
The record-setting seven-division titlist is moving back up to lightweight, where she will face Spain’s Miriam Gutierrez. The bout will serve as the co-feature to a grudge match between Jake Paul (4-0, 3KOs) and Tommy Fury (7-0, 4KOs) on Showtime Pay-Per-View event December 18 from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
“December 18th I’m stepping up to 135 pounds and showing the world why I’m one of the best to ever do it,” Serrano confirmed Monday.
The fight will be formally announced during a press conference Monday afternoon in Tampa.
The matchup is dual purpose for Serrano (41-1-1, 30KOs), the Brooklyn-based Boricua southpaw who is in talks for a titanic showdown with fellow pound-for-pound entrant and reigning undisputed lightweight queen Katie Taylor. Rumors have swirled of a potential showdown next spring, with Serrano opting to reacclimate to the 135-pound division where she has not fought in more than seven years.
Serrano is coming off a ten-round, unanimous decision victory over Yamileth Mercado this past August in Cleveland, Ohio. The fight marked the second defense of her current featherweight title reign, where she currently hold the WBC/WBO/IBO titles. It also came in support of a PPV event headlined by Paul, whose Most Valuable Promotions is now involved in her career as co-manager.
Serrano has won titles in every weight division from junior bantamweight through junior welterweight. The fight with Gutierrez will mark just her third above 130. Her first trip to lightweight or heavier came on the road, knocking out Maria Maderna in the sixth round to win the WBO lightweight title on the road August 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The feat marked her second divisional title win at the time, since going on to claim five more weight divisions—far and away the most in women’s boxing history.
The desire heading into 2021 was to become undisputed featherweight champion. The lack of interest from fellow divisional titlists Erika Cruz and Sarah Mahfoud, however, prompted a different career path—one leading back to a superfight with Taylor, the Irish superstar who won Olympic Gold in 2012, titles at lightweight and junior welterweight and who has claimed back-to-back Fighter of the Year honors as bestowed by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Taylor will fight one week prior versus an opponent to be named in Liverpool, England. The fight will be her first since a ten-round win over Spain’s Gutierrez (14-1, 6KOs), who bounced back from her lone career defeat with a win over the weekend. Her fight status was the holdup in confirming her place in this event.
“Miriam’s only loss in her career was a decision to Katie Taylor,” notes Serrano, who has 27 fights in a row since her lone defeat nearly ten years ago. “I’m ready!”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox