By Miguel Rivera
Puerto Rican sensation Amanda Serrano (30-1-1, 23 KOs) demolished Hungarian Alexandra Lazar (8-2) in 44 seconds to capture the WBO junior featherweight title at the Hotel Caribe Hilton, in San Juan, during the annual WBO Convention.
Already a three division champion, she moved back down to the junior featherweight limit to tie Miguel Cotto's record and become only the second Puerto Rican boxer, male or female, to win world titles in four weight classes. She is the second female boxer to accomplish such a feat.
In the co-feature, Jose Lopez (18-1) blasted out Edgar Sasso (13-2) in two rounds to capture the vacant WBO super featherweight title. Sasso was down three times in the first round and then put away in the second.
Serrano, who was born in Puerto Rico then raised in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, gravitated toward boxing after watching her older sister Cindy compete in the sport.
Winning the 2008 New York Golden Gloves tournament, Serrano turned pro the following year and her exceptional athletic ability and power were quickly apparent. Ten of her 22 knockouts thus far have come in the first round.
In 2011, Serrano won the IBF world female junior lightweight title with a second-round stoppage of Kimberly Connor in New York. Traveling to Sweden in April 2012, Serrano suffered her only defeat via 10-round decision to the unbeaten hometown favorite Frida Wallberg for the WBC junior lightweight world title.
Moving up to lightweight in 2014, Serrano seized the WBO world female 135lb. title on August 15, with a sixth-round knockout over Maria Maderna in Argentina.
Signing with DiBella Entertainment in 2016, Serrano demolished Canadian Olivia Gerula inside one round on February 17, to claim the WBO world female featherweight title. She then retained that belt with a first-round stoppage of Colombian Calista Silgado on July 30, to become the first female boxer to defend a world title at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, NY.
