There are many factors that go into why women’s boxing has become a force in recent years. Chief among the main reasons is Amanda Serrano, one of the best fighters the sport has ever seen. She was already a household name, with a 42-1-1 record and several titles in tow, heading into 2022.
But Serrano’s fight against Katie Taylor that year was the true launchpoint for women’s boxing. It marked the first time a women’s boxing match headlined at Madison Square Garden. Taylor won that bout by split decision, in what many found to be a somewhat controversial ruling. Serrano and Taylor ran it back two more times, in 2024 and 2025, but Serrano was never able to best a fighter many believe is the greatest of all-time. Both sides had to move on heading into 2026.
Amanda Serrano disappoints fans despute unanimous decision win vs. Reina Tellez
Serrano did so by facing Reina Tellez in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday night. Tellez was replacing Erika Cruz on two weeks notice, after Cruz was dumped from the card for “an atypical finding” in her VADA test. Tellez came into the bout with a 13-0-1 record, but was a relative unknown by many. Serrano ended up beating Tellez, successfully defending her WBA and WBO featherweight world titles. But her performance didn’t inspire confidence, continuing a worrying trend that some fans have noticed.
Serrano’s decline makes perfect sense considering that she’s now 37 years old and doesn’t have the same quickness and knockout power she used to. After losing to Taylor for the first time, Serrano won her next four fights by unanimous decision before finally knocking out an opponent in July of 2024 – the first time she had scored a KO since March of 2021.
Then came the additional two losses to Taylor. Despite getting back in the win column and retaining her belts on Saturday night, fans are beginning to wonder how much Serrano truly has left in the tank.
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