Serrano In Fight Of The Year Already?

Boxing Needed This Serrano Fight

I’ve said it before, but Boxing isn’t in a good place recently.

Allow me to remind you;

The Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jnr cancellation
The explanation of that situation
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s Will They-Won’t They Fight
The Anthony Joshua Next Opponent Arguments
The ‘Why Won’t They Fight’ Constant Cries

And so many more…

At the moment, that’s why we need fights like Smith v Eubank Jnr, Berbetiev v Yarde and this one.

Serrano v Cruz

Amanda Serrano is a boxing brilliance.  Multiple titles, 44 wins, 30 by KO, coming into this fight there was a delicious prospect of another fight with Katie Taylor, the boxing nemesis she lost to last April.

Her opponent, had 15 wins from 17, but wasn’t thought to have an enormous chance against an opponent such as Serrano; the Katie Taylor fight was the one on people’s minds.

Credit; DAZN

The Fight

‘Amanda Serrano had to earn every minute of her win over Erika Cruz in an instant classic…’

SB Nation/Bad Left Hook were right, it was good. Why? Well, we knew Cruz tended to put her head down and throw, which she certainly did here – the first round showed Cruz was a little tight, whilst Serrano was on her toes and seemed to have warmed up quickly.

It changed just as quickly. Cruz quickly calmed down and started to throw, landing with an overhand left, but also caught as she came in by a left.

Cruz likes to throw, right? She comes forward, right? So she needs to be held off. That’s why we saw the Serrano jab more in Round 3, gave Cruz something to think about, but by the the 5th, the jab wasn’t being thrown.

Another big issue appeared in the 3rd too, a clash of heads, accidental, but it opened a cut on Cruz by the hairline which caused blood to flow. It’s said that when boxers taste their own blood, one of two things can happen, either the fighter digs down or seizes up; for Cruz, it was the former.

They both landed in Round 4, but Cruz was throwing more, looping left hands, she didn’t seem to want to stop, with Serrano landing her own left too.

The next round showed Cruz not returning fire for the first time; this was the first round I had for Serrano. She was stepping down on her punches by the next round, getting through the middle and hooking well, Cruz holding on briefly; but even then, she fought back into the round.

Ceedit; Bad Left Hook

There was perhaps kidology at play in the Cruz corner when round 7 started, they were still mopping up in the corner after the bell to start the round rang and Cruz looked tired, as Serrano landed a big shot which made her think, but she then simply put her head down and threw punches.

Serrano did look more composed in R8, which might have been because for the first time in the fight there was separation between the fighters; she managed one or two combos.

Credit; Boxing News 24/7

But Cruz came out firing in the penultimate 9th, whilst Serrano was definitely picking her punches more, Cruz was spurred on to throw more after a combo landed. And the final round continued in the same vein, trading with real intent, at one point Cruz fell, perhaps from a push, but maybe she just fell – at the end of the match, she stayed on her stool, spent.

And she lost. Serrano probably won, but not by the 4 rounds from one judge and 6 by the other 2 by 6 – I had it for Serrano by 2.

The Outcome

Cruz will pick up fights. She deserves to, she’s entertaining and indomitable; fans want that.

Fight of the Year!! @DAZNBoxing #SerranoCruz 🇵🇷🇮🇪🔥 pic.twitter.com/xe10vyKgTI

— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) February 5, 2023

Perhaps the real winners were DAZN who raised their prices by £2 per month but which I am glad to pay; they produce such a lot of boxing product and now they have Impact Wrestling too.

But people were of course talking about Serrano, who will get that dream rematch with Katie Taylor in May. There was talk that she’s had approaching 50 fights, we might have seen her best; I’m not sure about that, but engaging in a fist fight might not have been a good idea. Did Serrano have a bad night but still won? Perhaps, but that line about engaging in a fist fight? Taylor will bring that, and the rest.