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By: Sean Crose
“Chipping away at this weight but feeling strong as F***. Let’s Get It!”
So Tweeted Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano on Monday. Serrano, according to DiBella Entertainment “will fight for a record seventh weight division world title on Friday, January 18th at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and telecast live on DAZN.” Serrano, of Puerto Rico, will be challenging Eva Voraberger of Austria in a ten round affair. The fight will be the 35-1-1 Serrano’s attempt to win the the WBO Super Flyweight Women’s World Title, which is currently vacant. According to DeBella Entertainment, a victory over the 24-5 Voraberger means Serrano “will tie boxing legend Manny Pacquiao as the only boxers to win world titles in seven weight classes.”
“Eva Voraberger is an excellent fighter, one of the world’s best at 115/118-pounds,” admits Lou DiBella, Serrano’s promoter. “Her record reflects her excellence.” Still, DiBella can’t help but be impressed by his fighter. “In a span of four-and-a-half months,” he says, “Amanda will attempt to win a world title six weight classes below the 140-pound title that she won last September. This has never been done by a fighter, regardless of gender. I truly believe that 2019 will be an historic year for women in boxing; Amanda Serrano will get it off to an historic start.”
“I’m having a great training camp for my fight on January 18,” claims Serrano. “I’ll be attempting to break my own record and win a world title in a seventh division. Any time you attempt to make history, it gives you an extra drive to push yourself to succeed. I am the only female and Puerto Rican, male or female, to win titles in six weight classes, and I did it in crazy fashion. I first won world titles at junior lightweight and lightweight, dropped down to the featherweight and bantamweight classes, then moved back up to junior welterweight, and now I’m headed to super flyweight.”
The multi-time champion knows she has a challenge before her on the 18th, however. “I am fighting a tough and very skilled world champion in Austria’s Eva Voraberger,” she says. “She (Voraberger) currently holds the interim WBC bantamweight title and only has three pounds to drop whereas I’m coming off of winning the WBO 140-pound world title just four months ago. I’ve heard the critics say that I’m crazy for dropping this much weight so quickly, but I’ll prove them wrong. I am known as the ‘Real Deal’ for a reason.”
Serrano is determined to get past Voraberger and move on to eventually face Irish phenom Katie Taylor. “This is the beginning of my contract with DAZN that will culminate with a fight against Katie Taylor,” she says. “This isn’t about taking easy fights before a big payday. This is about legacy and I will continue to cement my place in boxing history by taking risks. Dropping down to 115 pounds is going to be my first challenge and then I will move back up to fight for another world title before meeting Taylor.”
