The team of former two-division titlist Erika Cruz has sought to clear their fighter’s name, just days after her rematch with Amanda Serrano was canceled.
Cruz, a former 122lbs and 126lbs titleholder, was scheduled to face Serrano on January 3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, the fight was canceled after a VADA test reportedly detected an atypical finding for the banned substance clenbuterol.
Instead, Serrano will defend her unified featherweight titles against unbeaten San Antonio-based contender Reina Tellez in a card that will air live on DAZN.
Universal Promotions, the Puerto Rico-based company which represents Cruz, says the result for the specimen, which was collected on Nov. 20, was considered “atypical,” and below the 5ng/ml threshold for a positive result. The promotion has released the results of a subsequent test based on a specimen collected on December 9, which returned a negative result.
Danny Aspiros, Cruz’s manager, informed BoxingScene that his boxer had a VADA test administered that provided a negative result, but did not provide a date for the test.
“Based on such incorrect statements, and without allowing the process of VADA to conclude, the fight was unilaterally canceled by [Most Valuable Promotions], at the expense of the athlete's due process and causing serious and unjustified damage to the reputation of Erika Cruz and Universal Promotions,” Cruz’s team said in a media statement.
Aspiros tells BoxingScene that the team’s focus will now switch to looking to secure a mandatory challenger position in the junior featherweight or featherweight division.
“Erika is disappointed with the fact that Amanda Serrano’s team took away her opportunity to become champ again due to fear of losing a [third] straight fight, and now in front of her people by using this situation as an excuse,” said Aspiros. “At the end of the it has been proved she is clean from any banned substitute.”
VADA founder/chair Dr. Margaret Goodman declined comment to BoxingScene, stating that the organization does not discuss specific results.
BoxingScene’s Jake Donovan has externally confirmed that the matter is still under investigation.
Cruz, 18-2-1 (4 KOs), of Mexico City last fought in May, stopping Maricruz Rodriguez Gonzalez in six rounds.
Her first meeting with Serrano came with all the featherweight titles on the line in their sensational February 2023 bloodbath at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. Serrano prevailed via unanimous decision, though it was universally agreed that Cruz also became must-see TV even with her WBA featherweight reign coming to a close.
Cruz subsequently claimed the WBA 122lbs title, but was eventually stripped of the belt and suspended after a positive drug test for stanozololol metabolites. The banned substance was detected during random testing surrounding her May 2024 draw with Nazarena Romero.
Jordan Maldonado, who manages and trains Serrano, told El Vocero last week that they factored that very test result in their decision to move forward with a new opponent.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
