Amanda Serrano, Erika Cruz set for January rematch of Fight of the Year contender
Amanda Serrano is jumping from one rematch of a Fight of the Year contender to another.
Puerto Rico's Serrano will run back her 2023 slugfest with Mexico's Erika Cruz Hernandez on Jan. 3, 2026, at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Most Valuable Promotions confirmed Tuesday. The card will stream on DAZN worldwide.
Serrano vs. Cruz will be contested for the WBA and WBO featherweight titles over 10, three-minute rounds, rather than the two-minute rounds typically employed in women's boxing.
Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Cruz in their first meeting for the undisputed featherweight crown at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater in February 2023. The all-action affair, which saw the pair combine to throw a stunning 1,917 punches in 20 minutes, was a leading candidate for 2023's women's Fight of the Year.
Serrano, 37, is coming off back-to-back defeats at the hands of Irish legend Katie Taylor in their historic trilogy of fights. "The Real Deal" lost a controversial decision to Taylor this past November in another Fight of the Year nominee on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson undercard, but was outclassed in their third meeting in July in New York.
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Cruz (18-2-1, 4 KOs) held the WBA featherweight title from 2021 until losing it to Serrano in 2023. The Mexican captured the WBA super bantamweight championship with a controversial majority decision triumph over Mayerlin Rivas in November 2023. She was stripped of her belt after testing positive for three different banned substances in a Drug Free Sport anti-doping test before her May 2024 draw with Nazarena Romero.
Cruz, 35, returned to stop Maricruz Rodriguez Gonzalez this past May in an under-the-radar fight in Mexico. She now looks to become a three-time world champion in the latest installment of the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry early next year.
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