Amanda Serrano vacates boxing title after WBC refuses to let her fight under same rules as men
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Boxer Amanda Serrano has said that the WBC has refused to evolve the sport for equality.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LOS ANGELES – Featherweight champion Amanda Serrano on Dec 5 relinquished her WBC (World Boxing Council) title, after it refused to allow her to compete in bouts under the same rule-set as men’s boxing, with 12 three-minute rounds.
Women’s championship fights are typically scheduled for no more than 10 rounds, with each round lasting two minutes.
Serrano, who had unified the WBA (World Boxing Association), WBC, IBF (International Boxing Federation), WBO (World Boxing Organisation), IBO (International Boxing Organisation) and The Ring magazine titles, was among the women boxers who launched a campaign in October to have the choice to compete under the same rules as men.
The Puerto Rican beat Danila Ramos via a unanimous decision later that month, which was the first time a women’s title bout was contested over 12 three-minute rounds.
WBC did not sanction the fight, while the other sanctioning bodies recognised the bout as a title defence for the 35-year-old.
“The WBC has refused to evolve the sport for equality. So I am relinquishing its title,” Serrano wrote on Instagram.
“Thank you to the sanctioning bodies who have evolved for equality. If you want to face me in the ring, you have a choice. I’ve made mine.
“Moving forward, if a sanctioning body doesn’t want to give me and my fellow fighters the choice to fight the same as the men, then I will not be fighting for that sanctioning body.”
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman had earlier said that his organisation would not sanction 12 three-minute rounds in women’s bouts.
“Tennis, women play three sets. Basketball, the basket is shorter and the ball smaller and those are not contact sports. We stand by the safety and well-being of the fighters,” Sulaiman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in September.
Both Serrano and Ramos were able to compete under the new rules without damage or incident, Serrano wrote on X.
“I am the only boxer, male or female, from Puerto Rico to become undisputed champion. I am the only female boxer to have won titles in seven divisions,” she added. “And I am the first undisputed female champion to fight 12 three-minute rounds.
“It’s something I’ve wanted for years and finally now that I’m in the position, I will continue my career under that rule.” REUTERS
