Amanda Serrano continues to make history and print her own money.
The record-setting, seven-division titlist achieved another first in a career already destined for the Hall of fame. Serrano became Puerto Rico’s first-ever undisputed champion–male or female—in the multi-belt era with her ten-round, unanimous decision win over Erika Cruz. Their fiercely contested February 4 battle was an instant classic but was just the beginning for the now 35-year-old southpaw.
Serrano ended the year by redefining the championship standard for her industry by demanding twelve three-minute round fights just like her male counterparts.
All told, her 2023 campaign was more than enough to land her as a two-time recipient as BoxingScene.com’s Women’s Fighter of the Year.
The crazy part is that Serrano (46-2-1, 30KOs) is a scorecard away from claiming this award three years in a row. She earned top honors in 2021, when Serrano scored a trio of wins to extend her win streak to 28 in a row dating back to April 2012. It ended in a heartbreaking split decision defeat to Ireland’s Katie Taylor in their epic April 2022 undisputed lightweight championship that was a runaway favorite for 2022 Fight of the Year.
Four wins have followed for Serrano, who returned to her more natural featherweight frame with a mission to fully unify the division.
She entered 2023 with three of the four major belts in tow. The last chip that was missing was the WBA strap. Serrano was forced to walk through hell to add it to her collection, as she outlasted Mexico City’s Cruz to claim a points win in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City.
The same venue marked the start of her third and current featherweight title reign when she dethroned unbeaten WBO titlist Heather Hardy in their September 2019 meeting.
Serrano paid respect to her fellow Brooklynite by offering her a rematch and a final shot for Hardy to win another major title. It came months after Serrano fully recovered from a pre-existing hand injury that prevented her from moving forward with a previously announced May 20 rematch versus Taylor in Dublin. Serrano beat Hardy via virtual shutout, losing just one round on one card in their August 5 clash at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The fight came with the awareness that the WBO would order a title consolidation bout versus interim beltholder Danila Ramos.
Serrano was fine to take the fight, but just not as another routine title defense.
The demand going into their ultimately signed October 27 championship clash was that the bout—and all of her fights moving forward—would be fought at the same distance as men’s championship fights. Argentina’s Ramos agreed, and the two made history together. Their DAZN main event went the full distance, with Serrano taking a landslide decision win in a fight where she threw 1,103 punches (91.2 punches per round).
Despite her hard-earned status as undisputed champion, Serrano “only” defended her lineal, WBA, IBF and WBO titles that night. The WBC stood its ground that all women’s fights should be contested over ten, two-minute rounds.
The standoff was enough to prompt Serrano to subsequently vacate her WBC title, refusing to play by the sanctioning body’s antiquated rules.
The sacrifice was worth her maintaining her peace of mind and high standards that led her to this point in her historic career. Those principles have driven her to the fighter she has become, enough to where she can reign among the very best at a point when most are ready to retire from the sport—or put in a position where the game retires them.
Instead, Serrano continues to thrive in the twilight—so much, that she can now claim her second Fighter of the Year award in a span of three years.
The runners-up for BoxingScene.com’s 2023 “Women’s Fighter of the Year” award are listed below in alphabetical order.
Evelin Bermudez: The only thing on the 26-year-old Argentine’s mind was to immediately get back her IBF and WBO titles. She suffered her lone career defeat in a November 2022 majority decision to Yokasta Valle which ended her reign. Bermudez (19-1-1, 6KOs) accepted dangerous assignments versus unbeaten Tania Enriquez to regain her belts on March 10 in Buenos Aires and defended versus former WBC/WBA champ Kim Clavel via split decision on October 7 in Laval, Canada.
Chantelle Cameron and Katie Taylor: This category saw England’s Cameron (18-1, 8KOs) emerge as the early frontrunner after her upset win over Taylor to spoil the Irish legend’s long overdue homecoming on May 20 at 3Arena in Dublin. The same venue hosted their fiercely contested rematch that will be well represented in the Fight of the Year category. Taylor (23-1, 6KOs) claimed a ten-round majority decision to avenge her lone career defeat and become undisputed champion in two weight divisions.
Gabriela Fundora: No fighter enjoyed a more rapid sprint from prospect to contender to major titlist. California’s Fundora (12-0, 5KOs)—the younger sister of former interim WBC junior middleweight titlist Sebastian Fundora—achieved that with three wins in 2023. None were bigger than her breakout performance, a stunningly one-sided, fifth-round knockout of four time and reigning IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino on October 21 to win her first major title.
Yesica Nery Plata: The 29-year-old Mexico City native became boxing’s ultimate road warrior in 2023. Nery Plata (30-2, 3KOs) claimed two wins on the year, both versus unbeaten opposition and in their home country. She trumped Montreal’s Kim Clavel (16-0 at the time) in a well-earned unanimous decision to unify the WBC and WBA junior flyweight titles in their Fight of the Year contender on January 13 in Laval, Canada. The year ended with a ten-round, split decision over Germany’s Sarah Bormann (17-0 at the time) on December 16 in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox
