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Amanda Serrano wins title in sixth weight class with UD over Reynoso

Amanda Serrano (right), the No. 1-rated featherweight and No. 5 in the women's pound-for-pound rankings, versus Yamila Reynoso. Photo by Amanda Westcott - Showtime
Fighters Network
08
Sep

Amanda Serrano sought to step over a high hurdle — win a title in a sixth weight class, and do it in style in front of a mass of family, friends and neighbors — at Barclays Center on saturday evening.

The Brooklyn-based hitter, who came in at 34-1-1, came up against 11-4-3 Yamilia Esther Reynoso, who trekked over from Argentina, and Serrano made the locals happy winning a UD 10 via scores of 99-91.

“From Brooklyn, New York,” it was announced, and a solid roar sprung up. Would it have been louder if Serrano had gotten her pound of flesh and secured the stop? Maybe, probably; but it was a rock-solid performance and keeps Serrano in line with a showcase showdown with Ireland’s Katie Taylor.

Serrano is one of a new breed of female fighter, one who straddles fences; she likes how she’s treated, monetarily especially, in the cage realm, and has pondered going all-in within the MMA sphere (she’s 0-0-1 in MMA). But she’s been blessed with talent and has persevered in pugilism, as evidenced by her string of wins.



Now, on the down side, Serrano’s fight was “only” on stream, and didn’t make the main card portion which screened on Showtime. And that visibility limitation does put a ceiling on one’s earning power, and hello, she’s 29 and lives in one of the more expensive places on the planet, NYC. It’s understandable she wants to maximize her earnings to energy output ratio.

The sixth weight class was in the junior welterweight (140 pounds) realm. She’s been playing up the feat, noting that only Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao have hit the same height in the fight game. Born in Puerto Rico, the battler was gloving up for the first time in a squared circle, and we’ve heard her take on almost a backward-looking tone re: boxing. “Boxing was my number one sport,” the Bushwick High School grad been saying in the leadup to this faceoff.

Photo by Amanda Westcott – Showtime

Boxrec has Amanda at No. 15 pound for pound among all the women, so it is unimaginably annoying, I’m sure, for her not to be able make the inroads that her skills, aside from her gender, should be affording her.

Reynoso came in 3-3 in her last six, so probably a stiffer foe would have resulted in more hubbub over the sixth title in sixth class milestone.

That said, the action was not lacking because of any obvious gap in talent, both fighters gave a game effort.

In the first, the lefty favorite banged underneath, with a lead left. Her straight left to the noggin was stiff, too. She backed up the underdog, really hammering the body.

In round two, Reynoso tried to close the distance, so she wouldn’t get picked apart as easily. She wasn’t, she got busier, but didn’t win the round.

In the third, Serrano worked off the back foot more, to try and walk Reynoso into shots. She them would say hell with that, and just rock shots to the bread basket. Reynoso would seek to counter after a flurry but she was too late, usually.

In the fourth, the lefty was still a sniper. But she got tagged, end of the round, and the crowd let out a collective “Ohhhhhh.” The peeps wanted a fight, a back and forth, and so they showed their appreciation for the underdog’s moxie.

In the fifth, Serrano bounced and slid, methodically staying in motion so as to lessen her chances of getting tagged. The 22-year-old Reynoso came forward, slow, in plugging fashion, but dangit, she hung tough.

In the sixth and round seven, Serrano was in a mode. Boxing smart, moving well, keeping the volume high, mixing head and body work. Reynoso tossed a late one a full tick after the bell ending the seventh, and again, the crowd went “Ohhhh.”

In the 8th, Serrano dug down, wanted to maybe aim for a stoppage. She loves to come up from underneath and punish the body. The head too.

In round nine, more movement and ring generalship from Serrano.

In the tenth, could she end it with a flourish? With an exclamation point of violence? Reynoso made it harder, by coming forward, backing Serrano up. A left cross by Serrano on the chin backed up Reynoso, right at the bell. We’d go to the cards…

 

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