Ahead of Katie Taylor Rematch, Amanda Serrano’s New Opponent Leaves Skye Nicolson In Laughter

Puerto Rican boxing sensation and the unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano is all set to square off inside the boxing ring soon. She will face Stevie Morgan at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The boxing event will also have a co-main event, headlined by Jake Paul going up against former UFC and current BKFC fighter Mike Perry. The DAZN pay-per-view event will take place on July 20th. Serrano ran a campaign last year to have women’s boxing have 12 rounds, each lasting 3 minutes, much like men’s boxing bouts. Women’s boxing featured ten two-minute rounds until 2023. Serrano proved that women could compete in this bracket by defeating Danila Ramos in a 12-round match lasting three minutes in October 2023.

In a historic decision, three of the four major boxing associations – IBF, WBA, and WBO – approved Serrano’s proposal for 12 three-minute rounds in women’s championship fights. The traditional ten two-minute round format remains available, with fighters having the option to choose the number of rounds they want to fight. WBC, however, declined to concur hosting 12 three-minute fights, citing concerns for women’s safety. In response, Amanda Serrano decided to drop her WBC featherweight title. The title was then clinched by Australian boxer Skye Nicolson. So why the dispute?

Skye Nicolson takes a dig at Amanda Serrano

‘The Real Deal’ was initially scheduled to go up against the undisputed light welterweight champion Katie Taylor in a highly anticipated rematch on July 20th as the co-main event to the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson for Netflix. However, Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up, which eventually postponed the entire event to November. Thus the new opponents for the July event.

However, when a post revealed Serrano’s new opponent as well as the new fight rules, it caught the eye of the WBC featherweight champion, Skye Nicolson. Why? The caption on the post read: “The fight will be 10, 2 minute rounds at Super Lightweight ahead of Katie Taylor fight in November.”

Despite advocating for longer rounds in women’s boxing and even vacating her WBC title over the issue, Amanda Serrano’s upcoming fight against Stevie Morgan at light welterweight will be contested over ten two-minute rounds, the same format she previously opposed. Not only that, her next opponent, in the eyes of many boxing fans, is an unknown fighter. Skye Nicolson, therefore, decided to comment on the post. Nicolson wrote, “Hilarious”, with a laughing emoji.

Moreover, after some time, she shared a picture of herself in the gym smiling. The caption of this post read, “Sometimes you just have to laugh.” If this is in response to the announcement, we do not know. All we know is Skye Nicolson is a WBC champion, while Amanda Serrano is the unified champion. So a fight between the two is bound to happen sometime in the future, if not today.

A clash for legacy 

Amanda Serrano, a featherweight champion with a phenomenal record of 46 wins and 2 losses, is stepping outside her usual weight class for her upcoming fight against Stevie Morgan. This super lightweight bout has some fans scratching their heads. There could be a few reasons for this choice.

Perhaps it serves as valuable preparation for her highly anticipated November rematch with Katie Taylor, which will also be at super lightweight. Alternatively, finding a suitable opponent within the featherweight division on short notice might have been challenging. However, some boxing fans are eager to see a future fight between Serrano and the undefeated Skye Nicolson. While there’s no confirmed animosity between the two, a potential matchup would be intriguing.

If Amanda Serrano wins the rematch against Taylor, there are chances that she might face Nicolson provided Nicolson defeats her next opponent in July – Dyana Vargas. Meanwhile, what are your views on it? Do you think Serrano should face Nicolson? Share it in the comments below.