SAN JUAN, PR – Amanda Serrano will be in her 50th professional fight on Saturday night, but it may just be the most important.
Sure, 50 is a nice, round number for arguably the greatest women’s boxer of all time, but this one has plenty of additional meaning.
The 35-year-old will be fighting in her home of Puerto Rico at the island’s famed Coliseo against Nina Meinke – her first fight back home in almost three years – but she’ll also be the main event at the 18,500 person area, which is expected to sell out.
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Amanda Serrano poses during the weigh-in for her fight against Nina Meinke for Serrano’s IBF, WBO and WBA featherweight women’s titles at Distrito T-Mobile on March 1, 2024, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They will fight at Coliseo de Puerto Rico on March 2, 2024. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
That’s quite a big deal in general, but even more so when Jake Paul, whose Most Valuable Promotions signed Serrano in 2021, takes a back seat on a card he’s on himself.
“Jake is such a gentleman. He said this is my home, and he would never take that main event. I’m like, ‘No you can do it! You can do it!’” Serrano told Fox News Digital last month. He’s like, ‘There is no way you’re going home, and you’re going to showcase your home.'”
Added Paul in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday: “It wasn’t even a question” to let her be the main event.
Amanda Serrano (L) and Nina Meinke pose during the weigh in for Serrano’s IBF, WBO and WBA featherweight women’s titles at Distrito T-Mobile on March 1, 2024, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
JAKE PAUL AND HIS OPPONENT’S FANS EXCHANGE EXPLICIT CHANTS AT WEIGH-IN
But for Serrano, there is something else worth fighting for.
“This night is for us. It’s for women. To all the beautiful, strong women out there, Happy Women’s Month. Today’s the start of it. Tomorrow, we’re gonna show that women, we have power, we can go out there, we can sell, and we can give it all. Me and Nina is going to put on an amazing show for my island Puerto Rico.”
Serrano has proven as such before – she and Katie Taylor were the first women to headline a boxing match at Madison Square Garden in 2022. Rightfully, that bout was billed “For History.” That was just one of the two losses she has suffered in her illustrious career.
Amanda Serrano (L) and Nina Meinke pose during the weigh-in for Serrano’s IBF, WBO and WBA featherweight women’s titles at Distrito T-Mobile on March 1, 2024, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
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Serrano currently holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles, all of which are on the line against Meinke
Her fight back home in 2021 had an extremely limited crowd, thanks to COVID-19, and if the environment is anything like it was at Friday night’s weigh-in, it’ll be the loudest ovation that Serrano has ever gotten and may ever get.
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