By Miguel Rivera
Amanda Serrano (33-1-1, 25 KOs), a five division champion and one of the most dominant female boxers in the sport, is now considering the possibility of jumping over to mixed martial arts.
A few years ago, top female fighter Holly Holm crossed over to MMA and in 2015 she joined the UFC created worldwide headlines when she pulled off a shocking knockout win over what many felt was an unbeatable Ronda Rousey. And more recently, undefeated Heather Hardy made her MMA debut and signed on with the UFC's main rival, Bellator.
Serrano was in action last Friday in Puerto Rico, where she knocked out Edina Kiss in three rounds.
While top male boxers are earning far more money than their counterparts in MMA, the opposite can be said for top female fighters - who are earning less than top female fighters in MMA.
"I love boxing. But the money and recognition for women in MMA is better right now," said Serrano to Jose Sanchez.
Serrano is having some very difficult problems getting opponents. Her manager and trainer believes she will make her MMA debut in 2018.
"What we are thinking is that if we do not get a fight with Jackie Nava or Mariana Juárez, two Mexican champions, or with Argentina's Marcela Acuña, we will continue practicing Brazilian jujitsu, kick boxing and muay thai. We have to defend the title in six months, so that gives us six months to dedicate six days a week. Surely for 2018 we can debut (in MMA), because neither of us are looking to make mistakes (with that move). We have to take it easy and not do something crazy," said the manager and coach of the champion, Jordan Maldonado.
The priority would be to challenge Argentine fighter Ana Laura Esteche, who is the unified champion of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) at 140 pounds. However, the prospects of this interesting duel appear daunting.
"That fight with Ana Laura Esteche interests us. We asked the WBO to make us the mandatory challenger at 140 pounds because Amanda is recognized as a super champion," Maldonado explained.
"But the truth is that we have not had any luck getting fights against Argentines since we went there and we knocked out (the then champion) Maria Elena Maderna."
