Amanda Serrano Breezes Through Sarah Mahfoud To Unify Titles
At the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, fans witnessed a fantastic women’s featherweight unification contest. This took place when WBC/WBO champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (43-2-1, 30 KO’s) battled IBF champ Sarah Mahfoud (11-1, 3 KO’s) in this high stakes duel.
A seven-division world champion from 115-140 pounds, Serrano is considered one of the elite fighters in women’s boxing.
The 33-year-old is coming off one of the highlight fights of 2022. In April, she moved up in weight to face the reigning women’s undisputed lightweight champion, Katie Taylor. While she lost by a disputed split-decision, Serrano gave as good as she got. Even in defeat, that fight catapulted the Puerto Rican to a new level of popularity. Now she returns to featherweight to put her titles on the line.
Now she fought Mahfoud, who defeated Brenda Karen Carbajal by unanimous decision to capture the “interim” IBF belt in February 2020. After being catapulted to full IBF champ, Mahfoud made the first defense of that title with a decision win over Nina Meinke in April 2022. Next was the daunting task of beating Serrano, who was the overwhelming favorite coming in.
ONE WOMAN TANGO
The opening round saw Serrano doggedly pursuing Mahfoud around the ring, who fought off the back foot well. Despite her aggression, there was little effective offense to speak of. This abruptly changed in the second when The Real Deal’s jab and left hook to body really found some traction. Even worse for Mahfoud, an accidental head-butt left her with a nasty gash in her hairline.
Outside of the occasion shot here and there, Mafoud spent the next several rounds being battered and belted around the ring while looking generally distressed. Paying attention to her craft, Serrano remained very diligent to hammering her outgunned foe to the head and body with withering regularity. With the arrival of the sixth, The Real Deal took her foot off the gas for the first time in the fight and allowed Mahfoud to come forward.
YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS
Serrano shook off her reserved demeanor in the seventh. During this period, the Puerto Rico blasted Mahfoud with more lefts the Indy 500. While she remained spirited until the final bell, Mahfoud had zero answers for any of the problems that Serrano presented.
So, in predictable fashion, Serrano was award a unanimous decision to the tune of 99-92, 97-93 (twice). With the win Serrano takes control of all the belts aside from WBA champion Erika Cruz Hernandez’ strap. The WBA champ is coming off her latest win over Jelena Mrjenovich earlier this month. Let’s see if these two ladies mix it up for all the marbles!
By: Bakari Simpson
