By: Sean Crose
“Undisputed means a lot,” Amanda Serrano said the night before her undisputed world featherweight bout with Erika Cruz. “That means you are the best; you have everyone wants to beat you, you are the top dog, definitely number one in the department. To be the first undisputed champion in featherweight would be great after 14 years of playing professionally.” Serrano 43-2-1 won world titles in seven weight classes – a world record for sure. Becoming undisputed in featherweight this weekend will make the New York-based Puerto Rican boxer an icon in women’s boxing.
“Puerto Rico is so small but there’s a lot of talent out there,” he said, “but no champion is undisputed – we have every other kind of champion, but not undisputed. argue. I want to give that back to them, for some bragging rights to Puerto Rico. Seven pounds is special because I’m the only woman to do it, it’s amazing, but undeniably the icing on the cake and I’ll give it all to Puerto Rico maybe.”
Ultimately, Serrano wants to be an inspiration, and not just to people from Puerto Rico. “I love Puerto Rico and I want to inspire every Puerto Rican child, and every Latina girl,” she said. “No dream is too big, just work hard and be with the right people. When a little girl comes up to me and says ‘I started fighting for you’, I’m that girl looking for inspiration, so I feel like I’ve done a great job.
With that said, Serrano is well aware that 15-1 Cruz is meant to be business and loves nothing more than being an undisputed title man himself. “Erika fights less than I do,” said Serrano, “but hardness comes from within, and she wants to chop off my head and take my belt! How I win depends on her – if she wins, it will be an easy night, if she wants to hit the box and move, you can’t beat me, it’s not happening. We will definitely give the fans a great battle.”
The Serrano-Cruz fight will take place this Saturday night at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden, a place close to Serrano’s heart.
“Fighting at the Hulu Theater is very special to me,” she said. “Madison Square Garden is amazing and it was my first time boxing there. One of my favorites, Miguel Cotto, used to fight there all the time, but I have something special about Hulu.”
