Amanda Serrano Edges Lucrecia Manzur for 50th Win

Amanda Serrano was made to work desperately hard for the 50th victory of her remarkable career as Argentina’s Lucrecia Manzur came within touching distance of a monumental upset at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California.

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican retained her WBA, WBO and Ring featherweight titles by majority decision after 12 fiercely contested two-minute rounds. Two judges awarded Serrano the fight 116-112, while the third returned a 114-114 draw. The champion improved her record to 50-4-1, with Manzur falling to 14-5 after producing a performance considerably better than the betting suggested she was capable of delivering. The official scores were 116-112 twice and 114-114.

There would be no record-breaking 33rd stoppage for Serrano, who remains level with Christy Martin on 32 knockouts. Indeed, for lengthy periods the more pressing question was not whether she would stop Manzur, but whether she could prevent the challenger from carrying away her championships.

Manzur, a 27-year-old making her first appearance outside Argentina, entered as a forbidding outsider despite arriving on a five-fight winning sequence. She showed immediately that she had not travelled merely to provide the celebrated champion with another entry in the record book. Advancing behind a brisk jab and swinging overhand rights, she backed Serrano up during the opening round and made the southpaw fight at a pace she had not anticipated.

Serrano attempted to impose order with her right jab, straight left and compact combinations to the body. She enjoyed success when Manzur rushed forward without preparation, catching her with short counters inside, but the Argentine’s untidy aggression proved difficult to read. Manzur was not always elegant, though elegance was hardly the point. She kept Serrano occupied, denied her the time to set her feet, and kept throwing whenever the pair came together.

The champion used more lateral movement in the third, circling away from Manzur’s right hand and finding the body before stepping out of range. It appeared she might have solved the puzzle. Manzur promptly rearranged it in the fourth.

Two hard right hands drove Serrano towards the ropes, where Manzur unloaded with both fists. Serrano answered bravely but emerged visibly damaged from the exchange, and another forceful combination before the bell sent an unexpected murmur around the arena. The evening that had been designed as a celebration of Serrano’s latest milestone was becoming an alarmingly genuine contest.

Manzur continued landing the overhand right during the fifth and maintained her forward pressure through the sixth. Serrano’s straighter punching remained technically superior, particularly when she attacked the body, but the challenger was producing the more eye-catching moments. Every time Serrano appeared ready to take control, another looping right or busy combination arrived from the Argentine.

The seventh and eighth followed the same uncomfortable pattern. Serrano jabbed, moved and tried to build combinations; Manzur pursued her, worked around the guard and landed hooks and right hands at close quarters. The champion was being forced to rely upon every ounce of her experience. This was no ceremonial defence and certainly no procession towards knockout history.

Serrano finally began to establish firmer command in the ninth. Taking the centre before circling away from danger, she put together sharper head-and-body sequences and made Manzur pay more regularly for her advances. An accidental clash of heads during a clinch brought a warning for Manzur in the tenth, but neither woman lost concentration. Serrano finished that round well with combinations and purposeful body punching.

The champion’s work downstairs became increasingly important over the closing stages. She dug in left hands, followed with straight punches upstairs and began to beat Manzur to the target during the eleventh. The challenger remained persistent, landing her jab and continuing to force exchanges, but Serrano’s greater accuracy and composure were at last becoming more apparent.

There was no retreat from either woman in the 12th. Manzur pressed forward as she had done from the first bell, while Serrano met her with right hooks, straight lefts and further body shots. They exchanged repeatedly through the final minute and slugged away until the bell, bringing an absorbing and unexpectedly hazardous defence to its conclusion.

The 116-112 cards were defensible, reflecting Serrano’s cleaner late work and superior accuracy, although the drawn score better illustrated how frequently Manzur had troubled her. The challenger lost the decision but departed with her reputation transformed. Serrano, meanwhile, gained the landmark victory she wanted, though not by the comfortable route expected.

The contest was also the first unified women’s world championship scheduled for 12 two-minute rounds and headlined the first championship boxing event carried through TikTok Live. Serrano has spent much of her career breaking new ground. On this occasion, however, it was Manzur who almost pulled the ground from beneath her.

I thought Amanda Serrano won, but those two 116-112 scorecards flattered her. I had it 115-113, and I would not argue too loudly with anyone who scored it level. Lucrecia Manzur gave her far more trouble than anybody expected and exposed a few things that should concern Serrano if she continues fighting.

Serrano’s biggest problem was that she could not consistently control the distance. She normally sets her feet, establishes the southpaw jab and then brings the straight left through the middle. Manzur refused to give her that comfortable rhythm. She stepped across the front foot, crowded Serrano and kept throwing the overhand right around the jab. It was crude at times, but effective. The fourth round was particularly revealing because two right hands drove Serrano onto the ropes and left her looking more vulnerable than a champion at odds of roughly 30-1 should have done.

Manzur deserves enormous credit, but we should not pretend she suddenly became Pernell Whitaker. Her feet often followed her hands, she came in square, and many of her attacks were wide. What made the difference was her commitment. She kept making Serrano reset and wouldn't let herself be intimidated by the reputation or the occasion.

Serrano earned the decision through experience, cleaner punching and better work to the body over the closing rounds. When the fight was slipping away, she stopped looking for the spectacular finish, moved her feet more intelligently and began landing the shorter, straighter shots. That is what proper champions do: they find a way when Plan A has gone missing.

But this was not a vintage Serrano performance. The reactions looked slower, the defence was too open to the right hand, and she spent too much time accepting exchanges instead of controlling them. Victory number 50 is a magnificent achievement, but Manzur made her look like she had fought every one of those 55 professional contests.