Amanda Serrano decisions Erika Cruz, sets up rematch with Katie Taylor

Amanda Serrano promised she had been focusing only on Erika Cruz. That was a good thing.

With a lucrative rematch against Ireland's Katie Taylor looming, it took every bit of courage and concentration Serrano had to deny Cruz, who fought through blood and a barrage of Serrano combinations over 10 exciting rounds at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater on Saturday night.

Serrano (44-2-1) scored the unanimous decision over Cruz (15-2) to retain her IBF-WBC-WBO featherweight titles and take Cruz's WBA belt. The scores were 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93. The fight was waged at an incredible pace, with both fighters still swinging as the bell rung for the final round.

In the ring after the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn announced that the Serrano-Taylor rematch would take place May 20 in Ireland. The venue has not been determined yet.

“It’s going to be a bigger and better fight over there,” said Serrano, of the rematch.

But what a show Serrano and Cruz put on inside the Hulu Theater. The fight followed the same pattern throughout the 10 rounds. Serrano, 34, planted her feet and delivered crisp combinations, most of them landing. But all the firepower did little to dissuade Cruz, 32, who continued to wade in and loop punches in Serrano's direction. Some of them landed, but they lacked the velocity to do any real damage.

The southpaws clashed heads in the third round, resulting in a nasty cut on the forehead of Cruz. The blood never really stopped and Cruz fought through it for the entire bout.

In the fifth round, Serrano, of Brooklyn, put more purpose behind those combinations and rocked Cruz. In the sixth, Serrano staggered Cruz, who backpedaled across the ring. Serrano chased her, firing combinations in an attempt to close the show, but Cruz endured the punishment and finished the round on her feet, albeit wobbling.

"I knew it was going to be a [tough] bout and this was what I’ve trained for," said Serrano. "We didn’t expect anything less than that. I have successfully completed all of my dreams, becoming the undisputed champion. So now I am one of the undisputed champions but I am still the only [female] seven-weight class world champion in the world."

Cruz, from Mexico, began to land more in the seventh. She pressed Serrano for the entire fight, but her punches lacked the same snap and never seemed to really get Serrano's attention. The pressure by Cruz certainly did. Serrano never had a moment to relax in the fight. Neither fighter took a backward step in a furious 10th round. 

The first fight between Serrano and Taylor was for Taylor's undisputed lightweight title on April 30, 2022. It was the first time a women's boxing match headlined Madison Square Garden. Taylor won the fight by split decision. It sold out the Garden and is considered by many as the biggest women's fight of all time.

Some of Serrano’s finest moments have come in New York. When she decisioned Yamilia Esther Reynoso on Sept. 8, 2018, at Barclays Center, Serrano captured the WBO junior welterweight title and a world title in her sixth weight class. Almost four months later, on Jan. 18, 2019, she won the WBO super flyweight crown with a first-round knockout of Eva Voraberger at the Hulu Theater, earning a world title in a seventh weight class.

Serrano has held world titles spanning 115 to 140 pounds. Her nine titles in seven weight classes is surpassed only by Manny Pacquiao, who has won 12 world titles in eight weight classes.

In earlier bouts, IBF-WBC-WBO super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner added the vacant WBA belt to her collection with a 10-round unanimous win over a gutsy Elhem Mekhaled. Baumgardner scored a third-round knockdown and fended off a strong finish by Mekhaled. The fight was more competitive than the scores of 99-89, 99-89 and 98-90 would suggest. . . .  Flyweight Yankiel Rivera Figueroa, who represented Puerto Rico in the 2020 Olympics, scored an eight-round decision over Fernando Diaz, 79-73, 79-73, 78-74. . . .  Junior welterweight Richardson Hitchins dropped John Bauza in rounds one and four (the first lockdown appeared to be a slip) and scored a unanimous 10-round decision, scores of 100-88 three times.