Today, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced that MVP’s first signee, boxing pioneer and unified Featherweight World Champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs) will make her highly anticipated return in front of her home turf, Puerto Rican fans in a unified WBA and WBO world title defense against Mexico’s No. 4 ranked WBO prospect Erika “Dinamita” Cruz (18-2-1, 4 KOs) on Saturday, January 3 at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, live worldwide on DAZN. The highly anticipated 10-round rematch will be contested under equal rules for men with three-minute rounds as Serrano makes her final statement for equality in women’s boxing alongside Cruz.
In the pair’s first meeting, Serrano defeated Cruz by decision in February 2023, becoming Puerto Rico’s first-ever undisputed boxing champion, male or female, in history. The blood-soaked war was a top fight of the year for ESPN, Boxing Scene, Dan Rafael and more, and was named WBO’s Female Fight of the Year in 2023. Now Cruz has a chance for redemption against Serrano, who will make her second unified world title defense with three-minute rounds. The presale for Serrano vs. Cruz 2 airs Thursday, November 6 at 10am ET. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 7 at noon ET prticket.com.
Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano is the first-ever Puerto Rican undisputed world champion and the most decorated fighter in women’s boxing history, recognized by the Guinness World Records for most world boxing championships won by a woman across weight classes. Serrano is the first signee of Most Valuable Promotions, who also signed the first-ever lifetime combat sports contract with MVP and will become chairman of MVP’s women’s boxing initiatives to lead the company’s efforts in identifying, signing, developing and marketing the promotion’s growing roster of female athletes following her retirement from the ring. Serrano first took on Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden in April 2022 and made history as the first women’s fight to headline Madison Square Garden, gaining worldwide fame and winning Sports Illustrated’s Fight of the Year and The Ring’s Event of the Year for 2022. Taylor vs. Serrano was also nominated for Sports Business Journal’s Event of the Year, a testament to the event’s global reach and power. After the historic fight, Serrano defeated Sarah Mahfoud and Erika Cruz on his way to becoming the undisputed featherweight champion. She successfully defended her undisputed title in August 2023 against Heather Hardy before making history again by defeating Danila Ramos in October 2023 in the first-ever unified women’s world championship, which was contested over 12 three-minute rounds – equivalent to a men’s championship fight. She threw a career-high 1,103 punches in the fight, cementing her status as a pioneer of gender equality in boxing. In recognition of her achievements inside and outside the ring, Serrano was named the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Female Fighter of the Year for 2023, as well as Sports Illustrated and Boxing Scene’s 2023 Women’s Fighter of the Year. She continued her dominance in July 2024, scoring a second-round knockout victory over Stevie Morgan in a super lightweight fight.
Serrano next took on Katie Taylor in the most anticipated women’s boxing rematch in modern history in the co-main event of MVP’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card on Netflix in November 2024. The undisputed super lightweight title fight ended in a razor-thin decision victory for Taylor, sparking a global debate and increasing Serrano’s social following by more than 1.2 million, making her the most followed female boxer in the world. #Serrano also ranked #2 on X in the US, Brazil, Spain and Canada after the fight, further cementing her status as a global icon. Serrano then faced Taylor for the third and final time in an all-women’s event at Madison Square Garden, once again capturing the world’s attention on Netflix and continuing to break barriers for women in combat sports with a historic trilogy. Serrano now makes her highly anticipated homecoming in Puerto Rico on Saturday, January 3, where she will face Cruz in an explosive encounter between two of the sport’s top 126lb stars.
“Every time I step into the ring, I fight for all women, for equality and for Puerto Rico,” said Amanda Serrano. “Being able to fight three-minute rounds in a unified world title defense in front of my people will be one of the proudest moments of my career. When I got injured last March, I promised I would come back to fight in Puerto Rico, and now the moment has finally come. I want to thank Erika Cruz for choosing to meet me over 10×3:00 and for joining me in making this statement for equality in women’s boxing. Together we show all young girls that they can do anything they put their mind to, and that women boxers deserve the same opportunities as men. Anyone who saw our first battle knows this will be an all-out war, and we are ready to make history again on Saturday, January 3, live on DAZN worldwide.”
Erika “Dinamita” Cruz, 35 years old, is a proud southpaw fighter from Mexico City, Mexico. With a professional record of 18 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw, including 4 knockouts, Cruz is currently Boxrec’s #3 super bantamweight boxer in the world, the WBO’s #4 featherweight boxer and ESPN’s #4 super bantamweight contender. In 2021, she made history by capturing the WBA featherweight world title and defeating long-reigning champion Jelena Mrdjenovich. She went on to successfully defend her title twice, proving her dominance in the division. Continuing her rise, Cruz once again demonstrated her strength and determination in 2023 by moving down in weight and defeating Mayerlin Rivas to claim the WBA super bantamweight world championship. Promoted by Universal Promotions, Cruz proudly represents Mexico with a ruthless spirit and explosive action in the ring.
“I am very happy and excited about this great opportunity to once again battle the great Puerto Rican champion Amanda Serrano,” said Erika Cruz. “I’m grateful to my promoter, Universal Promotions, and MVP for making this rematch happen. This is the most exciting rivalry in world boxing. Mexico vs. Puerto Rico means a guaranteed war. If our first fight was a colossal battle, you can’t miss what will happen on Saturday, January 3. Viva Mexico!”
“Amanda Serrano is a once-in-a-generation pioneer who continues to redefine what is possible in boxing,” said Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of MVP. “From becoming Puerto Rico’s first-ever undisputed champion, male or female, in her first meeting with Erika Cruz, to becoming a global icon and breaking women’s ratings at Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, headlining her historic trilogy against Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden and leading an all-women record, Amanda has continuously helped the sport move forward. We are honored to support her return to her natural weight class of 110 lbs as she fights in front of her home fans in Puerto Rico on Saturday, January 3. Amanda is one of the most influential athletes in the world today and a true symbol of equality in the world. sport, and MVP is proud to support her as she makes her second unified world title defense in three-minute rounds, alongside Erika Cruz. This event wi
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