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Both Amanda Serrano and Erica Cruz defied reason and logic to start boxing in the first place. Since then, the universe has given them many reasons to leave at various points, and not only did no one blame them, it was seen as a wise thing to do.
The two women will face off in the undisputed featherweight title match on Saturday night at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. The match is her main event on the DAZN broadcast, and it’s her second time each woman has accomplished the feat. For two women in their teenage years as boxers, it was an unfathomable position, yet they had the audacity and perseverance to imagine.
Serrano first became interested in boxing through his sister Cindy, who turned pro as a fighter in 2003. Laila Ali, Christy Martin, and Mia St. Her John have all penetrated mainstream audiences in the United States, and her three of them have faced off in broadcast matches, giving rise to a wave of women’s momentum in sports and new entrants. It seemed like a harbinger of fruitful opportunities. That day will come, but there hasn’t been a women’s match televised in English for another decade in the country since 2007. In one of Cindy’s early professional fights, she saw her Earned $50. For her world title-winning performance, she earned her $2500. Amanda said Cindy told her this and boxing wasn’t worth it.
The warning Amanda received from her sister turned out to be justified. Serrano was the one to beat Yasmin her rebus on the TV show in 2017 and on English TV show she broke the record for no women’s boxing that had been held for 10 years and the bout was her first since 2000. It was also the network’s first women’s match. In that match, she collected her $17,500. , according to ESPN. At that point, Serrano was already world champion in four divisions. The weight leap was undoubtedly as much driven by ambition as it was necessary. She scaled up and down, overcoming split after split, but financial worries remained. Even in 2020, Serrano and her coach, Jordan Maldonado, are skeptical about her possible retirement, or her move to MMA full-time after moonlighting with cage-fighting to make extra money. were openly discussing the move of
At any point in the mid-2010s, Serrano could have left the sport with an impressive resume and sought a new chapter in his life. But what was it? Serrano has given up everything for boxing, stripping her craft of anything that could have been a temporary distraction. She doesn’t date, she doesn’t drink, she doesn’t party , don’t even have a mobile phone.
Just a year after considering retirement, Serrano signed a promotional deal with Jake Paul, who promised to help her earn $1 million. I was. Serrano and Katie her Taylor broke the glass ceiling for this sport in 2022, headlining a match at Madison Square Garden watched by her 1.5 million viewers on DAZN. Serrano made a very thin decision, but the fight was so great and the event so compelling that many outlets named it Fight of the Year, Event of the Year, or both. The night and payday were life-changing.
“All my dreams have come true,” Serrano tweeted in July 2022.
Erica Cruz’s dreams were a bit modest, so she must have been even more frustrated that the sport itself didn’t provide a path to it.
Unlike Serrano, whose family warned her about the sport, Cruz had a father who desperately wanted her to fight. Defeated Welterweight Champion Pipino Cuevas. Memo retired with his five wins and five losses and wanted to pass on his knowledge to his daughter. Erica said she initially felt like she was being forced, but then she fell in love with the sport quickly.
Unfortunately, the sport didn’t love her back at first. Being a second-generation fighter didn’t give her any tangible privileges. Cruz’s martial arts career began on the unregulated circuit, participating in nine “no rules” fights at local fairs. She told the San Diego Union-Tribune last week that during these fights, she learned her pressure-fighting style and how to come forward even under duress.
Ultimately, she found her way to a legitimate amateur rank, balancing fighting motherhood and studying. He was told to concentrate on She continues her work to this day while simultaneously earning her Bachelor of Laws degree and a position in the Mexican National Guard.
“At least I already had a job, so it gave me a little more support. Living off of boxing alone just wasn’t true,” Cruz told AS Mexico in May 2022. If men get paid more, I see it. It’s wrong because we fight them the same way.
Cruz’s father was not present in her title-winning effort as he was unable to travel due to COVID-19 restrictions at the time. Cruz actually said a few days before the fight that she thought she wouldn’t fight without her father by her side. But she did it, defeating Jelena Murjenovic for the WBA Featherweight Title in a match televised on NBC Sports in April 2021. Her father has made it into Mrjenovic’s rematch last year. I was there and watched my daughter successfully defend her second world title. A year before that, Cruz signed her contract that changed her life, her matchroom deal, which provided her with a level of security she had never experienced before as a fighter.
“Today I can invest in my family, and even better in improving my life and my home.
Serrano and Cruz kept the course despite the road littered with obstacles. They dreamed and realized a future for themselves and women in boxing like never before.
Corey Erdman is a boxing writer and commentator based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Follow him on Twitter @corey_erdman.
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