At StipeTapped we talk a lot about MMA, but we are really into all forms of combat sports. Personally, I was into boxing before I first started watching the UFC. I do my best to watch what combat sports I can. It helps that my wife loves watching it as much as I do. Anyway, I stayed up to watch the boxing the other night. The card featured some fantastic talent; with three title fights on the card it was exciting. The fight that I was interested in was the co-main event though which featured ‘Heather Hardy vs Amanda Serrano’.

Some of you may know Heather Hardy, she is 37 years old and has had four fights with Bellator MMA with her last MMA fight being a TKO loss at Bellator 222 on 14/06/19. She has been a pro boxer since 2012, going undefeated in 22 fights winning 4 by knockout and the other 18 by decision amassing 3 titles in her career (before the fight with Serrano). ‘The heat’ is a likeable character, she provides for her daughter and is a voice for woman’s boxing. She won the ‘female boxer of the year’ in 2018 by WBA. Hardy is giving woman’s boxing a good name like her competitor, Amanda Serrano.

Serrano is a fantastic boxer too, winning world titles in seven different weight classes (holding Guinness World Records for being the first and only woman to do so). Like Hardy, ‘The Real Deal’ has also competed in MMA, fighting twice in the Combate Americas promotion winning once and losing once. Her boxing record though is much more impressive, 35-1-1 with 26 knockouts (before the fight with Hardy). The 30-year-old Puerto Rican also won ‘female boxer of the year’ in 2018, however it was the WBO who honoured her.

As you can see, on paper this looks like a great matchup. If we had to compare this fight to a men’s fight it is an Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury type clash – two exciting fighters and two of the best. Joshua vs Fury would not disappoint, and Hardy vs Serrano did not!

Hardy got hurt badly in Round 1, and with a minute left in the round she found herself on the ropes with Serrano throwing an onslaught of punches at her. Hardy true to her character took the punches, returned and survived the round. Serrano knew that she could have finished the round in the first if she had more time so continued the assault into the second battering her opponents body. Serrano did not keep the same pace that she did in the first two rounds which allowed Hardy to get back into the fight, connecting with some solid punches. You could see at the later rounds that Hardy was getting tired, Serrano displayed excellent footwork and stamina and controlled the later rounds like she did with the rest of the fight. At the end of the final round the pair embraced, it was a watershed moment. The foes were friends again and the fight was a brilliant display of boxing.

Serrano won by unanimous decision with the fight being scored 98-91, 98-91 and 98-92. Her next fight looks like it could be against undefeated 33 year old Katie Taylor. That would be Serrano’s biggest fight ever, the equivalent of the winner of Ruiz – Joshua 2 vs Deontay Wilder. That fight would be massive. It is clearly showing that Women’s boxing is on the rise and more people need to be aware of it or they are going to miss these great fights.