Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez: Fight Card, Odds & Predictions

The queen of the boxing’s featherweight division will be crowned this Saturday, February 4, inside the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden as IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO World Featherweight Champion Amanda Serrano (43-2-1) faces the WBA World Featherweight Champion Erika Cruz Hernandez (15-1) in an undisputed match.

Serrano comes in as the favorite in boxing odds at-450 to come away with all the titles due to her superior record and experience; plus, she has more world titles compared to Hernandez, who only has 16 bouts in her career and one world title. This is why the Mexican boxing star is the considerable underdog in BetMGM’s online sportsbook at +350.

Amanda Serrano Recent Fight Result

Amanda Serrano made her professional debut in March 2009 and won a majority decision against Jackie Trivilino. From then on, she competed in 11 bouts and remained undefeated with ten wins and one draw. Along with this impressive run is her NABF Featherweight Triumph in June 2011 after a first-round TKO of Jennifer Scott.

Three months after winning her inaugural boxing title, Serrano TKO’ed Kimberly Connor in the second round of their September 2011 showdown to win the vacant IBF World Super Featherweight Title. Two more wins followed it before challenging Frida Wallberg for the WBC World Super Featherweight Title in April 2012.

Unfortunately, Serrano was denied a second major boxing title after Wallberg unanimously beat her. However, this setback was used by the Puerto Rican to become a multi-division world champion, beginning in August 2014, when she knocked out Maria Maderna in the sixth round to win the WBO World Lightweight Title.

Following this success in the 135-pound division, Serrano returned to the 125-pound division to pick up the vacant WBO World Featherweight Title over Olivia Gerula in February 2016. She went on to defend it against Calista Silgado in July 2016. Then, the now-New York resident went down again in weight to compete in the super bantamweight division.

There, Serrano reigned supreme with victories over Alexandra Lazar, Yazmin Rivas, Dahianna Santana, and Edina Kiss to become the WBO World Super Bantamweight and WBC Diamond Super Bantamweight Champion. Following the super bantamweight sovereignty, “The Real Deal” collected the WBO World Super Lightweight and WBO Super Flyweight Titles to her resume by beating Yamila Reynoso and Eva Voraberger.

In September 2019, Serrano finally returned to the featherweight division in a WBC and WBO Title showdown with Heather Hardy, where she handily defeated her via unanimous decision. She added two more wins to her tally before fighting Daniela Bermudez in March 2021 for the IBO, WBC and WBO World Featherweight Titles.

The 34-year-old knocked out Bermudez in the ninth round to secure the three championship belts. Five months later, Serrano successfully fended off a challenge from Yamileth Mercado in August 2021 with a lopsided unanimous decision triumph. In April 2022, Serrano made history with Katie Taylor as they headlined the first female boxing fight in Madison Square Garden.

Serrano challenged Taylor for the undisputed women’s world lightweight title, but she came up short after absorbing a close split decision loss from Taylor. It was the Puerto Rican’s second career loss. Serrano’s latest win came against Sarah Mahfoud, where she won the IBF World Featherweight Title after a unanimous decision win in September 2022.

Erika Cruz Hernandez Recent Fight Result

Erika Cruz Hernandez made her professional boxing debut in Diana Crespo in March 2016 and won the unanimous decision to have a dream start to her career. However, Hernandez suffered an early defeat to her career during her second bout in June 2016, where Alondra Flores handed her a majority decision result.

This loss sparked the Mexican to pick up eight straight wins over Guadalupe Jaimes, Guadalupe Ortiz, Virgen Tapia, Aide Rodriguez, Maria Villalobos, Karen Zamora, Karina Boiso and Magali Rodriguez from August 2016 to October 2018. The winning stretch became Hernandez’s ticket to fight for her first boxing title.

In March 2019, “Dinamita” fought Vissia Trovato for the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Title. Hernandez cruised past Trovato via unanimous decision to capture her maiden boxing title. The Mexico City native followed this with back-to-back unanimous decision triumphs over Jocelyn Torres in September 2019 and Leticia Mejia in February 2021.

Due to these 11 straight victories, the Mexican boxing star was able to challenge Jelena Mrdjenovich in April 2021 for the WBA World Featherweight Title. Hernandez seized the opportunity by beating Mrdjenovich via a seventh-round technical decision as she could not continue because of a big cut caused by an accidental headbutt.

Seven months later, Hernandez immediately defended the WBA title over Melissa Esquivel after squeaking out a split decision triumph. The 32-year-old’s latest victory came against Jelena Mrdjenovich in their September 2022 title rematch. Hernandez reasserted her mastery over Mrdjenovich through a unanimous decision victory.

Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez: Tale of the Tape

Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez: Fight Analysis

Looking at the tale of the tape, both Serrano and Hernandez are just separated by half an inch in height, with Serrano at 5-foot-5 and a half compared to Hernandez, who stands at 5-foot-6. However, the Puerto Rican will enjoy a one-and-a-half-inch reach advantage at 65.5. against the Mexican’s 64 inches.

Stylistically, Serrano possesses more power among the two, evident in his 69 percent finishing rate to her professional record. Once she finds her range, Serrano goes all out on her punches, especially on finding a home to that signature right hook she perfected throughout her career. This style has made it possible to capture seven titles across seven divisions.

On the other hand, Hernandez will enjoy the luxury of having a slight speed advantage over Serrano. Unlike Serrano, who is a power puncher, “Dinamita” throws more punches and combinations to score points, thus accumulating it to sway the judges’ scorecards in her favor. This is the primary reason she only has three TKO/KO wins in her record.

But regardless of the volume punching that Hernandez can bring, Serrano’s power will still be a big factor in this unification showdown. Once Hernandez feels the sting of Serrano’s punches, she might backpedal throughout the match and avoid the attack from the Puerto Rican champion. In the end, the Mexican WBA title-holder might yield to a lopsided decision victory.

Where to Watch Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez Fight

You can watch the Kati Taylor-Amanda Serrano fight when you subscribe to DAZN and sign up here. DAZN subscribers can stream the fight on multiple mobile devices, TVs, and gaming consoles.

Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez Fight Card

Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez: Date and Start Time

February 4, 2023, 3:00 p.m. PST

February 4, 2023, 7:00 p.m. CST

February 4, 2023, 8:00 p.m. EST

Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez: Fight Prediction

Official Prediction: Unanimous decision victory for Amanda Serrano.

See the entire Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz Hernandez odds and wagers here.