Amanda Serrano


Amanda Serrano is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. As a boxer, she has held the WBO and WBC interim featherweight titles since September 2019. She is the only female, and Puerto Rican, to win world titles in more than four weight classes, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most boxing world championships won in different weight-classes by a female, having held 9 major world titles across seven different weight classes.
Serrano has been recognized with the Female Boxer of the Year Award twice by the WBO, an entity that also granted her the first "Super World Championship" awarded to a woman. As of June 2020, she is ranked as the world's best active featherweight by BoxRec.

Early life and introduction to boxing

Serrano was born in the municipality of Carolina, where her sister Cindy was also born. Her grandparents were born in the municipality of Carolina. When she was young, the family moved to New York and joined the large Puerto Rican diaspora there. Surrounded by this community, she grew up in an oasis of Puerto Rican culture in which traditional food and salsa music were predominant. Her upbringing was reflected in the manner in which she speaks Spanish, in a dialect with a distinct accent often attributed to that population, and her ability to fluidly speak English. The family lived in Brooklyn, where she continued to live well into adulthood. During her youth she was an active child, with a distinct passion for swimming. After her sister began boxing training intending to lose weight by attending the gym of her husband Jordan Maldonado, the 12-year old Serrano accompanied her there. She continued frequenting the facility and eventually got her first job there.
Initially Serrano was not as interested in the sport, not even attending a family event to watch the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Félix Trinidad fight, but she was an avid follower of Cindy's career and developed a passion for it as she grew older. When she graduated from Bushwick High School at the age of 17, she decided to begin training as a method to buy things and bond with her sister. Her father supported her decision, but her mother was hesitant until she began earning success and saw it as a way for the elder sister to retire after having her second child. Cindy, knowing that she had already been frustrated during a previous sparring session against a boy, intended to dissuade her by stepping into the ring but the younger sister proved that she could defend herself competently. Admittedly shy, Serrano choose to continue in Maldonado's small gym in Queens with him as trainer, so that the flow of people was controlled and she could focus on her training.
Serrano's amateur career was brief and concluded with a record of only 9–1, but she won the Staten Island amateur championship in 2008. From there she competed in the featherweight division of the New York Daily News Golden Gloves, where she defeated Glenyss Puentevella by referee stopping contest in the semifinal and decisioned USA Boxing's national champion Jody-Ann Weller in the final.

Professional boxing career

Serrano is managed and trained by noted female American professional boxing trainer Jordan Maldonado of New York City. Serrano is Boxing 360's first world champion.

Super featherweight world championship

Amanda won the inaugural IBF super-featherweight title with a second round stoppage over Kimberly Connor, who had not lost a fight in seven years. In the second round, Serrano began landing power shots to the head, sending Connor to the canvas on her back midway through the round. Connor beat the count, but appeared helpless on the ropes as Serrano immediately battered her senseless and defenseless with numerous power shots to the head, forcing referee Benjy Esteves Jr. to stop the contest. The rounds were two-minute rounds, and the bout was scheduled for ten.

NABF Featherweight championship

On June 11, 2011, Amanda defeated Jennifer Scott to capture the vacant NABF featherweight champion. The bout was scheduled for 8 rounds, but the match was cut quick by Serrano knocked out Scott in 1:04 in round 1.

IBF Super featherweight championship

In the main event of an eight bout card held at Aviator Arena in Brooklyn promoted by Havoc Boxing Promotions, undefeated Amanda Serrano won the inaugural International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight title with a second round stoppage over Kimberly Connor, who had not lost a fight in seven years. The first round was even, with both fighters attempting to do body work on the inside in center ring, but ineffectively. Connor also fought off the ropes with some right hand lead counters to the head, but Serrano was not fazed. In the second round, Serrano began landing power shots to the head, sending Connor to the canvas on her back midway through the round. Connor beat the count, but appeared helpless on the ropes as Serrano immediately battered her senseless and defenseless with numerous power shots to the head, forcing referee Benjy Esteves Jr. to stop the contest. Two minute rounds, scheduled for ten. According to Boxing 360 CEO Dr. Mario Yagobi, Serrano's promoter, negotiations were underway for Serrano to fight an IBF-WBC unification match with WBC female Super Featherweight champion Frida Wallberg of Sweden in early 2012. Serrano sparred for this fight with her sister Cindy Serrano, training for her upcoming female world welterweight title bout with Anne Sophie Mathis. The Serrano sisters are both trained by Jordan Maldonado. Serrano's originally scheduled opponent, Fatuma Zarika of Kenya, was unable to leave that country to get to the United States due to visa problems.

WBC Featherweight Championship

On April 27, 2012, Serrano faced the undefeated Frida Wallberg in Cloetta Center, Linköping, Sweden. The WBC against mandatory rules allowed the bout to be contested with 10 ounce gloves instead of the mandatory 8 ounce for that division. Serrano came up short losing a controversial unanimous decision to Wallberg. The referee was Victor Loughlin and the judges were Gudjon Vilhelm 93-98 | judge: Venciclav Nikolov 93-97 | judge: Franco Ciminale 94–96.

WIBA featherweight world championship

On February 16, 2013, Puerto Rican female star Amanda 'The Real Deal' Serrano was once again crowned world champion, capturing the WIBA featherweight title with a first-round knockout of Wanda Pena at Gran Arena del Cibao, Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic. The WIBA was the Original boxing organization known for its staging of female championship fights.
Her first fight in Puerto Rico was attended by a contingent of family members from Carolina, a situation that combined with the fan reception led to an emotive introduction.

Mixed martial arts career

Training

Since early 2015, Serrano quietly worked towards debuting in mixed martial arts, beginning by incorporating kicks to her training. The idea emerged after she participated in the filming of Fight Valley along her sister, meeting Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, and Cristiane Justino and learned of the lifestyle that they could afford. This triggered the interest of people involved in MMA and she was approached and told about the economic potential of the move. When queried about the matter, Serrano expressed additional motivation due to the absence of a Puerto Rican female fighter in Ultimate Fighting Championship at the moment.
With the consent of her boxing trainer Jordan Maldonado, Serrano continued her introduction to kickboxing, citing a general lack of money for women in boxing. By the summer of 2016, Serrano admitted that she had seriously considered retiring to take up MMA due to frustration with the state of the business, but that being able to appear in ShoBox changed that. Instead, she began working towards becoming the first person to hold both boxing and MMA titles at once, setting her debut for late 2017. Towards this goal, she continued training in kickboxing under former world champion Luis Ruiz and incorporated Brazilian jiujitsu working with brown belt Gabriel Marte at the Dojo NYC.

Public challenge to Ronda Rousey

On July 31, 2015, Ronda Rousey's trainer, Edmond Tarverdyan, expressed the belief that his fighter "can win the boxing world title" while discussing a potential fight with Justino. After noting that "Ronda spars with boxing world champions that punch way harder than Cyborg", Tarverdyan claimed that she "has never lost a round in the gym. A round. With boxing world champions". Within a week, Serrano responded by stating that "Rousey's trainer does not have any knowledge about the sport of boxing. She is a very good fighter in the Octagon, and I really congratulate her for everything she has done. Her opponents cannot box and it's easy to look great, but when facing a high quality boxer with punching power as myself, believe me, things are gonna change. In a boxing ring, the canvas will be your comfort zone".
She went on to criticize Rousey's stand-up fighting technique and challenging her to a boxing match, stating that " boxing point of view, she looked like a rookie amateur fighter, throwing very wide punches with no coordination. I heard that Cyborg is not willing to come down to the lightweight division to fight Ronda, but I can go up to 135, and we can settle a boxing match so I can prove her trainer wrong. I once went up to the lightweight division, and traveled to Argentina for a world title fight. At the end, the results was that I became the first ever Puerto Rican female boxer to captured a world title in two weight classes". Serrano's trainer noted that they "do not challenge other fighting styles." And that the reason for calling out Rousey was because they "represent boxing and want to get some respect." by showing "Edmond Tarverdyan how wrong he is about boxing".

Combate Americas

In December 2017, Serrano announced that she had signed with Combate Americas, a MMA promotion that mostly featured Latin American fighters in its roster. Her debut was scheduled for April 13, 2018, when she drew with Corina Herrera after winning the first two rounds but losing the third when forced to the floor. Afterwards, Serrano focused on grappling. This training was put to the test on August 18, 2018, when she won gold in her first career jiu jitsu tournament, a Grappling Industries event held at New York where she gathered four submissions. After winning a sixth world championship in boxing, it was announced that MMA would be Serrano's focus in the foreseeable future due to better salaries.
On October 13, 2018, Serrano won her second fight by submitting Eréndina Ordóñez with a standing rear naked choke in the first round. In February 2019, she participated in her second jiu jitsu competition, defeating Erin Finkeldey in her only bout. Serrano is scheduled to headline her third MMA event, this one in Puerto Rico, on January 25, 2020.

Professional wrestling career

At the same time that she made her involvement in MMA public, an interest in potentially joining World Wrestling Entertainment as a Diva was noted. In 2019, Serrano revealed that she had been training under Jonathan Figueroa to become
a professional wrestler and that she would be performing for a promotion soon.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
40Win38–1–1 Simone Da SilvaTKO3 Jan 30, 2020Miami, Florida, U.S..png" />
39Win37–1–1 Heather HardyUD10Sep 13, 2019 Madison Square Garden Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.Won WBO, vacant WBAN and WBC interim featherweight titles
38Win36–1–1 Eva VorabergerTKO1, 0:35Jan 18, 2019 Madison Square Garden Theater, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant WBO junior bantamweight title
37Win35–1–1 Yamila Esther ReynosoUD10Sep 8, 2018 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant WBO junior welterweight title
36Win34–1–1 Marilyn HernandezTKO1, 2:38Nov 4, 2017 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.
35Win33–1–1 Edina KissTKO3, 1:00Jul 21, 2017 Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBO female junior featherweight title
34Win32–1–1 Dahiana SantanaTKO8, 1:14Apr 22, 2017 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant WBO female bantamweight title
33Win31–1–1 Yazmín RivasUD10Jan 14, 2017 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBO female junior featherweight title;
Won vacant WBAN junior featherweight
32Win30–1–1 Alexandra LazarTKO5, 1:10Oct 18, 2016 Hotel Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto RicoWon vacant WBO female junior featherweight title
31Win29–1–1 Calixta SilgadoTKO1, 1:10Jul 30, 2016 Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBO female featherweight title
30Win28–1–1 Edina KissTKO4, 1:20Apr 22, 2016 Cancha Rubén Zayas Montañez, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
29Win27–1–1 Olivia GerulaTKO1, 1:50Feb 17, 2016 BB King Blues Club & Grill, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant WBO female featherweight title
28Win26–1–1 Djemilla GontarukTKO3 Nov 20, 2015 Aviator Sports Complex, New York City, New York, U.S.
27Win25–1–1 Fatuma ZarikaUD6Sep 10, 2015 The Space at Westbury, Westbury, New York, U.S.
26Win24–1–1 Fatuma ZarikaUD6May 29, 2015 W.C. Handy Pavilion, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
25Win23–1–1 Marisol ReyesTKO3 Feb 21, 2015 Sosua Convention Center, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
24Win22–1–1 Carla TorresTKO1 Nov 13, 2014 The Space at Westbury, Westbury, New York, U.S.
23Win21–1–1 Maria Elena MadernaKO6, 1:26Aug 15, 2014 Estadio F.A.B., Buenos Aires, ArgentinaWon WBO female lightweight title
22Win20–1–1 Diana GarciaTKO1 Sep 29, 2013 Gimnasio Boxing Factory, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
21Win19–1–1 Kerri HillTKO2 Sep 21, 2013 Resorts World Casino, New York City, New York, U.S.
20Win18–1–1 Dominga OlivoTKO3 Jun 29, 2013 Resorts World Casino, New York City, New York, U.S.
19Win17–1–1 Wanda Pena OzunaTKO1 Feb 16, 2013 Gran Arena del Cibao, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican RepublicWon vacant UBF female, and WIBA featherweight titles
18Win16–1–1 Lina TejadaTKO1 Dec 15, 2012 Sosua Bay Grand Casino, Puerto Plata, Dominican RepublicWon vacant UBF InterContinental female super featherweight title
17Win15–1–1 Grecia NovaTKO1 Sep 16, 2012 Club Pueblo Nuevo, Villa Duarte, Dominican Republic
16Loss14–1–1 Frida WallbergUD10Apr 27, 2012 Cloetta Center, Linköping, SwedenFor WBC female super featherweight title
15Win14–0–1 Ela NunezUD8Feb 17, 2012 Cicero Stadium 1909 S. Laramie, Cicero, Illinois, U.S.
14Win13–0–1 Grecia NovaTKO5 Nov 18, 2011 Hotel Jaragua, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
13Win12–0–1 Kimberly ConnorTKO2 Sep 10, 2011 Aviator Sports Complex, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant IBF female super featherweight title
12Win11–0–1 Diana GarciaTKO1 Aug 6, 2011 Parque del Este, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
11Win10–0–1 Jennifer ScottTKO1 Jun 11, 2011 Roseland Ballroom, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant WBC-NABF female featherweight title
10Win9–0–1 Ela NunezTKO4 Apr 22, 2011 Fairgrounds Event Center, Hamburg, New York, U.S.
9Win8–0–1 Ela NunezUD6Jan 29, 2011 Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, U.S.
8Win7–0–1 Jennifer EncarnacionRTD4 Sep 18, 2010 Coliseo Carlos 'Teo' Cruz, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
7Win6–0–1 Nydia FelicianoUD6Jun 4, 2010 Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
6Win5–0–1 Lucia LarcineseUD6Feb 26, 2010 Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, New York, U.S.
5Draw4–0–1 Ela NunezSD4Nov 20, 2009 Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
4Win4–0 Christina RuizTKO2 Jul 31, 2009 Resorts Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
3Win3–0 Carolina MartinezTKO1 Jun 29, 2009 Coliseo Carlos 'Teo' Cruz, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2Win2–0 Brittany CruzKO1 May 9, 2009 DoubleTree Hotel, Orlando, Florida, U.S.
1Win1–0 Jackie TrivilinoMD4Mar 20, 2009 Washington Avenue Armory, Albany, New York, U.S.

Personal life

After becoming a full-time boxer, Serrano adopted a monk-like routine that required not purchasing a cell phone to avoid distractions and avoiding getting involved with boyfriends. When asked about it, she insisted that there would be time for that in the future, after carving a legacy. Serrano has noted that one of the prime movers in her boxing career has been to pursue records in possession of foreign athletes and securing them for Puerto Rico.