Amanda Serrano will face WBA female world featherweight titleholder Erika Cruz on February 4 at The Hulu Theatre inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. Serrano, who holds the WBC, IBF, and WBO world title belts, is the Ring Magazine champion at 126 pounds.

In what is likely the co-feature bout, Ring Magazine champion and unified junior lightweight titleholder Alycia Baumgardner will face Elhem Mekhaled of France, as was first reported by Boxingscene.

Both 10-round bouts will stream live on DAZN.

Serrano (43-2-1, 20 knockouts), who grew up in Puerto Rico and now resides in Brooklyn, New York, successfully defended her Ring Magazine and unified world title belts in her last bout on September 24, defeating Sarah Mahfoud by unanimous decision. Serrano won the IBF title from Mahmoud.

In her previous fight on April 30, Serrano went up to weight classes to challenge Ring Magazine lightweight champion Katie Taylor, losing by split-decision in what was one of the best fights of 2022. The fight took place before an announced sold-out crowd of 19,187 at Madison Square Garden.

The 34-year-old has won world title belts in multiple weight classes, from 115 pounds up to junior welterweight. She began her pro career in March 2009.

Cruz (15-1, 3 KOs), who resides in Mexico City, is ranked No. 1 by The Ring at 126 pounds. In her last fight on September 9, Cruz defeated Jelena Mrdjenovich by unanimous decision for the WBA title. The fight was a rematch of their March 2021 clash, which Cruz won by technical decision. 

The 32-year-old has not lost since her second pro fight in June 2016.

Baumgardner of Detroit will face Mekhaled after the WBA, at its recent convention last month in Orlando, approved Baumgardner’s petition to fight for the WBA world title after the sanctioning body mandated longtime titleholder Hyun Mi Choi be downgraded to ‘champion in recess’ due to her injury status. 

In her last fight on October 15, Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KOs) defeated Mikaela Mayer by split-decision in a close fight. With the win, Baumgardner successfully defended her WBC title and won the IBF and WBO belts from Mayer.

Mekhaled (15-1, 3 KOs), who resides in Paris, France, suffered her first loss as a pro in her last fight on May 22, losing to former world lightweight titleholder Delfine Persoon by unanimous decision. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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