Amanda Serrano has won world titles in seven divisions on her way to becoming one of the biggest stars in women’s boxing.
She is expected to fight undisputed champion Katie Taylor at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds for the second time May 20 in Dublin, but Serrano admits that she is most comfortable boxing as a featherweight. The 34-year-old Serrano showed yet again Friday that she can continue to make the 126-pound maximum for her division.
Brooklyn’s Serrano stepped on the New York State Athletic Commission’s scale at 125.4 pounds for her 10-round featherweight title unification fight against Erika Cruz on Saturday night. Mexico City’s Cruz came in at 125.4 pounds as well for a battle between southpaws that will headline DAZN’s stream from Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York.
Serrano (43-2-1, 30 KOs) will defend her IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO featherweight crowns against Cruz (15-1, 3 KOs), whose WBA belt also will be on the line.
Caesars Sportsbook listed Serrano as an 8-1 favorite Friday to beat Cruz. The 32-year-old Cruz hasn’t lost since Mexico City’s Alondra Gonzalez (5-1, 0 KOs) edged her by majority decision in Cruz’s second professional fight, a four-rounder that took place in June 2016.
The official weights for the eight fights on the Serrano-Cruz undercard are listed below.
DAZN, 8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT
Alycia Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KOs), Bingham Farms, Michigan, 129 pounds vs. Elhem Mekhaled (15-1, 3 KOs), Paris, 129 pounds, 10 rounds for Baumgardner’s IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO and the vacant WBA 130-pound titles.
Richardson Hitchins (15-0, 7 KOs), Brooklyn, 139.6 pounds vs. John Bauza (17-0, 7 KOs), North Bergen, New Jersey, 139 pounds, 10 rounds for the IBF North American junior welterweight and WBC United States super lightweight titles.
Yankiel Rivera (2-0, 2 KOs), Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, 112.4 pounds vs. Fernando Diaz (11-2-1, 3 KOs), Riverside, California, 111.8 pounds, 8 rounds, flyweights.
Matchroom Boxing’s YouTube channel, 4:15 p.m. ET; 1:15 p.m. PT
Skye Nicolson (5-0, 0 KOs), Yatala, Australia, 125.6 pounds vs. Tania Alvarez (7-0, 1 KO), Barcelona, Spain, 124.8 pounds, 10 rounds for the WBC Silver featherweight title.
Ramla Ali (7-0, 2 KOs), London, 121.4 pounds vs. Avril Mathie (8-0-1, 3 KOs), Sydney, Australia, 121.4 pounds, 10 rounds for the IBF Intercontinental junior featherweight title.
Shadasia Green (11-0, 10 KOs), Paterson, New Jersey, 167.2 pounds vs. Elin Cederroos (8-1, 4 KOs), Vasteras, Sweden, 167.4 pounds for the WBC Silver super middleweight title.
Harley Mederos (4-0, 3 KOs), Brooklyn, 134.2 pounds vs. Julio Madera (4-2, 3 KOs), Mexico City, 133.6 pounds, 6 rounds, lightweights.
Aaron Aponte (6-0-1, 2 KOs), Hialeah, Florida, 138.6 pounds vs. Joshua David Rivera (8-1, 3 KOs), La Mesa, California, 8 rounds, 138.8 pounds, junior welterweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
