Boxing champion Amanda Serrano signs with Combate Americas

Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano, the 29-year-old Puerto Rican boxing star who fights out of Brooklyn, and reigning WBO super bantamweight champion, has signed a contract with the mixed martial arts promotion Combate Americas, according to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto.

Serrano will make her professional MMA debut in March. Serrano plans to continue her boxing career and aspires to hold titles in both sports simultaneously. She is represented by former UFC champion Miesha Tate’s recently formed management company.

It’s good that Serrano (34-1-1, 26 KO) isn’t looking to give up on boxing just yet, because it’d be a big loss for the women’s side of the sport. She’s tentatively scheduled to fight on January 20 at the Barclays Center, and has been one of the female fighters given some attention by Showtime in the last couple of years, as women’s boxing has finally made a few waves in the United States for something other than a famous daughter or the like.

Serrano last fought on November 4, knocking out Marilyn Hernandez in the first round in Brooklyn in a non-title fight. Her last title defense came in July, when she stopped Edina Kiss in the third round.

In her career, Serrano has won world titles at, in order, 130, 135, 126, 122, and 118. The move to MMA is something she’s talked about in the past.