The p4p greatest active Puerto Rican fights on August 29th

A week from today, I'll bet you didn't even know.

I'm speaking, of course, of Amanda "The Real Deal" Serrano - and yes the hell she is. Right now, irrespective of gender. You want to pipe up with a counter-argument, I know - but stop and have a peek at the landscape: there happens to not be a transcendent male boricua talent at the moment to pick up the baton from Tito, Iron Boy, Junito, etc. The closest we have are the likes of Sniper Pedraza, Brownie Matías, Lobo Torres...maybe Gabe Rosado if you want to count him (despite living his entire life from birth in Philly...and being still capable but we'll past his prime). A lot of 'pretty good'. None are quite That Guy™.

Amanda, however, is very much That Chick. She has been an under-the-radar gem for years, generally thought of as top 5 p4p among women despite having not gotten any big stage opportunities in front of a global audience ...until now.**

She is competing in what is the main event in all but name of the PPV that has Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley atop the marquee, in a defense of her unified WBC, IBO and WBO featherweight titles against Yamileth Mercado. If she is victorious, and especially if she is dominant, the skilled and hard-hitting 32 year old southpaw will have to be a lock for female fights of the year, coming off an impressive stoppage of Daniela Romina Bermúdez in March.

** She was supposed to have clashed with Katie Taylor a year or two back, and it was even I believe signed at one point, but negotiations disintegrated and the whole thing devolved into a he-said, she-said mess of drama involving both fighters and their respective promoters Hearn and DiBella. So who knows, maybe this mainstream exposure will reignite Fast Car Eddie's interest and talks will resume.

 

Sidebar: for the record I haven't written off Matías or Torres, both certainly have potential to become top level guys, but they also have flaws (along with the benefit of youth and time for correcting them), and haven't yet made a dent in Serrano's achievements even adjusting for how much stronger and deeper the men's talent pool is.

...ditto for Xander Zayas, Bimbito Méndez,
and to a much lesser extent even Edgar Berlanga.

 

Seven division world champion (IBF super feather, WBO super fly, bantam, super bantam, feather, lightweight and light welter), just behind octuple champion Manny Pacquiao.

...and, the Brooklyn based badass has already called out welterweight titlist Jessica McCaskill, eyeing legacy and putting herself in line for a historic eighth.

 

Yeimi for sure is tough, and brings solid pressure backed up by a reliable gas tank - but she's outclassed in every department, lacking the speed, punch, agility or finesse of Serrano. Also, notably, her one clear professional defeat (wide UD) was at the hands of a southpaw. Her other, more recent loss was a SD which she avenged in style a year later...versus a Kenyan powerhouse I'm unconvinced wasn't born male, or at least hermaphrodite.

 

Serrano last time out vs. Daniela Bermúdez:

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note: "La Bonita" has long been considered #1 in two divisions, straddling bantam and super bantam simultaneously.

Mercado last time out vs. Angélica Rascón:

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note: many observers feel "Sexy Mo Cuishle" got screwed on the cards.