Serrano-Rivas makes headlines, Ref Sparkle Lee shines

“We knew she was going to come to fight…She’s a Mexican fighter who’s very tough and experienced. I had to show her my power and my skills. I was glad to get 10-rounds in and I hope the fans enjoyed the fight.”– Armand Serrano

“I knew everything was against me and to win I had to knock her out. Unfortunately it didn’t happen today. I believe that after this fight, women will have more opportunities to show their skills on television.”—Yazmin Rivas

Junior featherweight world champion and Brooklyn-native Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (31-1-1) fought former two-division world champion Yazmin Rivas (35-9-1) in the first nationally televised women’s world title bout in nearly a decade on Saturday, January 14, live on SHOWTIME EXTREME from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Amazingly, the last nationally televised female world title fight was Mary Jo Saunders vs. Valerie Mahfood on March 30, 2007 (ESPN2). Serrano-Rivas also was the first women’s fight on a Showtime network (non-pay-per-view) since 2000.

Serrano, the far busier of the two, dominated the game Rivas with a non-stop attack that was a virtual repeat from round to round. The judges scored the fight 97-93, 98-92, 99-91 to give Serrano the victory The final round was a rousing one featuring whirlwind exchanges from both combatants as the crowd roared its approval. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA7aCWdzhyo

Said Serrano, “It was a great night for women’s boxing and I hope it keeps getting bigger and bigger. We want the best. My goal is to drop to 118 pounds and win a title in my fifth division. I want to fight other champions. My goal is to be the first Puerto Rican to hold world titles in five weight classes.”

Rivas disagreed with the decision and said, “It was an excellent fight…and I believe that I won…I think the last round was very close, but I think I did well in all the rounds.

Sparkle sparkles

Lost in the action was invisible referee Sparkle Lee who was totally non-intrusive until the bell rang ending the fight, but was always in position to engage the action if necessary. It’s time we saw more of this Woman’s Boxing Hall of Famer.