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Amanda Serrano will defend her featherweight titles vs. Erika Cruz

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10 months ago

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Amanda Serrano will return to the ring to defend her WBO and WBA featherweight titles against Erica Cruz in front of her hometown fans at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico on January 3, 2026, and will be broadcast worldwide on DAZN, ESPN confirmed on Tuesday.

The fight will be a rematch of the invigorating and bloody 2023 fight, which Serrano won by unanimous decision and became the first undisputed champion of Puerto Rico in the four-belt era. However, the rematch will be played under different rules, as Serrano-Cruz 2 will be played under the same rules as the men, over 10 three-minute rounds.

“Every time I step into the ring, I fight for all women, for equality and for Puerto Rico,” Serrano said in a statement. “Fighting three-minute rounds in a unified world title defense in front of my people will be one of the greatest moments of my career. When I got injured last March, I promised I would come back to fight in Puerto Rico, and now that moment has finally come.”

Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KO) will enter the ring for the first time since a July defeat to undisputed junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor, who headlined the women’s fight gala on Netflix. Although she lost to Taylor 0-3, their rivalry played a key role in women’s boxing’s current prosperity. Now Serrano, 37, is looking forward to competing in front of her hometown after being forced to withdraw from her December 2023 fight with Nina Meinke in Puerto Rico just minutes before the fight due to an eye injury.

“I want to thank Erica Cruz for choosing to face me in the 10 x 3:00 (minute rounds) format and for joining me in making a statement for equality in women’s boxing,” Serrano said. “Together we are showing all juvenile girls that they can do anything they want and that female boxers deserve the same opportunities as men.”

Cruz (18-2-1, 4 KO) has a 3-0-1 record since the loss to Serrano. Fighting out of Mexico, he is looking forward to the resumption of the renowned boxing rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico and hopes to avenge his loss to Serrano.

“I am very elated and excited for this great opportunity to once again face the great champion of Puerto Rico, Amanda Serrano,” Cruz said in a statement. “I am grateful to my promoter, Universal Promotions, and MVP for making this rematch a reality. This is the most invigorating rivalry in world boxing. Mexico vs. Puerto Rico means a guaranteed war. If our first fight was colossal, you cannot miss what will happen on January 3. Viva Mexico!”

Serrano recently signed a lifetime contract with Most Valuable Promotions, where she will retire from boxing before becoming the chairwoman of MVP’s women’s boxing initiatives. She will lead efforts to identify, sign, develop and promote the promotion’s growing list of female athletes. While there has been speculation that Serrano’s 16-year boxing career is coming to an end, “The Real Deal” has at least one more fight left.

“We are honored to support [Serrano’s] will return to her natural weight class of 126 pounds when she fights in front of her home fans in Puerto Rico on Saturday, January 3,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian announced in a statement. “Amanda is one of the most influential athletes in the world and a true symbol of equality in sports, and MVP is proud to stand by her during her second unified defense of the world title in three-minute rounds, alongside Erika Cruz. This event will celebrate the pride and heritage of both Puerto Rican and women’s boxing, and we look forward to sharing more details about this historic event in the coming weeks.

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Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshuas Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns

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1 day ago

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July 25, 2026

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"Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshua's Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns"

Oleksandr Usyk has shared his reaction to Anthony Joshua‘s dramatic knockout victory against Kristian Prenga.

Usyk nearly suffered his own shock defeat in May when he was pushed to the limit by kickboxing star Rico Verhoevenand two months on it was nrw teammate Joshua’s turn to come close to a massive upset loss that would have stunned the heavyweight division.

The Brit was dropped twice by massive underdog Prenga in the opening round of their clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, but ‘AJ’ managed to recover and record a big knockdown of his own in the second round that resulted in the stoppage victory.

Joshua and Usyk now train together, having famously had two battles for the unified world heavyweight title in 2021 and 2022, and the Ukrainian has had his say on his stablemate’s victory over Prenga.

Speaking to TalkSporttwo-time undisputed champion Usyk praised Joshua, insisting ‘AJ is back’ before predicting that Joshua will now claim a knockout win over long-term rival Tyson Fury in his next bout.

“Anthony Joshua is next undisputed champion. First round it’s a test but AJ is back.

It’s boxing, [the] big upper cut is good, it’s a knockdown. AJ [come] back and win.

“Greedy Belly [Fury] will speak now and say weak chin, Greedy Belly get out. AJ wins [against Fury], [he will] knock him out.”

Fury was victorious on Friday as he earned a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach in Thailand, paving the way for the showdown against Joshua later this year.

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Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshuas Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns

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1 day ago

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July 25, 2026

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"Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshua's Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns"

Jake Paul was the last man to fight Anthony Joshua and he has now revealed his verdict on AJ’s chaotic victory over Kristian Prenga.

Joshua went up against Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturdayin a clash that was expected to be a comfortable win for the former world heavyweight champion in order to set up the long overdue battle against Tyson Fury.

Any hopes of seeing that clash were nearly ended after AJ was dropped twice in the opening round of the bout, though he was able to recover and claim the second round knockout to come out on top and prevent a stunning shock upset from taking place.

Saturday’s outing saw Joshua back in the ring for the first time since his sixth round triumph over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul back in Decemberand now ‘The Problem Child’ himself has shared his reaction to his former rival’s victory over Prenga.

Posting on social mediaPaul praised AJ for earning the win, after returning to action following the tragic car crash he was involved in at the end of last year which took the lives of his two close friends.

“Happy for Joshua with that win after all he’s been through. Remembering Sina and Latz with this one.”

The win for Joshua should now tee up for meeting with Fury later this year, after ‘The Gypsy King’ held up his end of the bargain by also securing a win in his warm-up bout on Friday, securing a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach.

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Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshuas Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

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1 day ago

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July 25, 2026

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Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshua's Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Anthony Joshua may have earned a knockout win over Kristian Prenga but the fight certainly didn’t unfold as most people expected.

Joshua was facing the Albanian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and it looked like a massive upset could be on the cards when he was dropped twice in the opening round.

‘AJ’ was able to recover and went on to secure a second round knockout victory to prevent the shock lossseemingly paving the way for the battle against Tyson Fury later this year.

One man who was ringside to witness the battle was former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellewand he praised Joshua’s ability to turn things around in the fight after describing it as ‘chaos’.

“We predicted round two but I don’t think we foresaw that. That was chaos. He doesn’t see the uppercut coming and finds himself on the floor without knowing how he got there.

“The second one he did see it coming and he was able to clench down on the jaw. He got up and then the experience that he has he used tonight because he tied him up. Against Andy Ruiz he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t know how to do that, but tonight he did.

“He showed once again there is no quit. To be that hurt in the first round and get up, that’s the recoveries of power. People talk about your chin, but it’s not, it’s the level of fitness that gets you up from the floor.

“When Joshua gets a fighter hurt he’s the best finisher in the division. Whenever he hurts someone they’re gone. I haven’t seen him drop anybody and they survive, only Andy Ruiz. He’s a ruthless finisher.”

The clash between Joshua and Fury is now expected to be announced soon for later this year, after Fury won his own interim fight on Friday by defeating Mariusz Wach.

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