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Amanda Serrano and Yazmin Rivas put on a solid show tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with Serrano retaining her WBO super bantamweight title by decision in the first women’s fight on U.S. national television in nearly 10 years.
Serrano (31-1-1, 23 KO) started very fast, then settled into a rhythm where she was just a bit ahead of Rivas (35-10-1, 9 KO), a tough veteran and former bantamweight champion.
Serrano, known for her power, did flash her left hand pop on occasion, but Rivas was simply too durable and too crafty to get badly hurt, let alone knocked out. Rivas was hurt late in the 10th and final round, but she battled until the final bell, too.
BLH scored the fight 99-91 for Serrano. Official scores were 97-93, 98-92, and 99-91.
A good showing, which kept the crowd engaged, was nice to see from Serrano and Rivas, and should mean that Serrano will be back on Showtime airwaves in the future, which is richly deserved. She is a good fighter, and the women’s side of the sport can only benefit from more exposure like this, and could maybe even gain a foothold in the U.S. boxing media finally.