Amanda Serrano clutches out 50th career win over Lucrecia Manzur, denied new KO record
Amanda Serrano entered Friday's fight against Lucrecia Manzur looking to break the all-time knockout record in women's boxing. Although she fell short of that goal, Serrano still exited the ring with a smile on her face after coming perilously close to suffering the fifth defeat of her career.
Serrano (50-4-1, 32 KOs) won a controversial majority decision over Manzur on Friday at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, to retain her WBA and WBO featherweight titles in what is looking like her penultimate ring appearance.
One judge could not split the pair, 114-114, while the other two found eight rounds for the seven-division champion, 116-112 Serrano.
"Thank God I'm almost out of the game," Serrano, Uncrowned's No. 4 pound-for-pound boxer, said moments after a brutal 12-round fight with the Argentine.
Through seven rounds, it looked like we were heading for 2026's biggest upset in a boxing ring. Serrano, however, rallied late and took a clean sweep of the final five rounds on Uncrowned's unofficial scorecard to edge out the victory.
Manzur (14-5-1, 7 KOs) held a commanding lead after Round 7, and although Serrano came back strong late in the bout, some observers did not feel it was enough to pull out the victory. Uncrowned scored it 115-113 Serrano.
It was clear in the opening seconds of the bout that Manzur had no respect for Serrano's pound-for-pound credentials. She brought the fight straight to the Puerto Rican and began to wing power shots over the top of the southpaw's guard.
Manzur found a home for two power punches early in the fight: an overhand right and a lead left hook. Serrano, for all her greatness, ultimately struggled to defend from either shot and was a sitting duck for those punches for much of the first half of the bout.
On multiple occasions through the first seven rounds, Serrano's head was knocked back and her knees buckled as right hands smashed into her face, which became bloodied in the fourth round.
Serrano made adjustments in Rounds 8 and 9, keeping her feet moving, landing left hands down the middle and working the body consistently. It slowed down Manzur's success as she was unable to break the distance at this point in the fight without walking into punches.
Serrano hurt Manzur to the body in the dying seconds of Round 10. She continued her bodywork in the penultimate stanza and forced Manzur to hold on in the final frame after hurting her with a right hook to the chin, which sealed her win.
Serrano, 37, said in her post-fight interview that she has just one fight left in her illustrious boxing career. She currently sits in a tie with Christy Martin for the most knockouts (32) in women's boxing history.
Check out complete Serrano vs. Manzur results, highlights and play-by-play below.
Fight card
WBA & WBO featherweight titles: Amanda Serrano def. Lucrecia Manzur via majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 116-112)
Lightweight: Jahmal Harvey def. Hammet Kowany Keb del Valle via second-round KO | Watch video
WBA super bantamweight title: Melissa Mortensen def. Mayelli Flores via split decision (95-94, 94-95, 95-94)
Welterweight: Avious Griffin def. Jackson Marinez via fifth-round TKO (corner stoppage)
Super lightweight: Cinderella Linnear def. Jully Poca via split decision (39-37, 37-39, 39-37)
Cruiserweight: Keno Marley def. Braylan Brooks via third-round KO | Watch video
Minimumweight: Brook Sibrian def. Lupita Medina via unanimous decision (77-75, 78-74, 78-74)
Heavyweight: Nelvie Tiafack def. Salvador Zavala via third-round TKO | Watch video
Featherweight: Iyana Verduzco def. Miguelina Hernandez via split decision (77-75, 78-74, 74-78)
Minimumweight: Jocelyn Camarillo def. Ashley Felix via unanimous decision (60-54, 59-55 and 58-56)