In a recent statement, undisputed featherweight world champion Amanda Serrano, alongside two dozen current and former female fighters, expressed their desire for women’s boxing to offer the option of 12-round title fights, similar to their male counterparts.
Currently, women’s championship fights are scheduled for no more than 10 rounds, with each round lasting two minutes.
Serrano plans to fight 12 rounds at three minutes each for her unified title fight against Danila Ramos later this month in Orlando, Florida.
This move is supported by the WBO, WBA, and IBF, according to Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
Although her fight is an outlier, it will be the first women’s unified championship fight to be fought under the same rules as the men, as reported by Sky Sports.
The fighters’ statement reads, “We stand together with the desire and dedication to have the CHOICE to perform on the same stage, with the same rules, as men in professional boxing. We have earned the CHOICE of 3-minute rounds, with 12 rounds for championship fights to demonstrate our skill and greatness.”
The statement is backed by Laila Ali, Britain’s two-weight world champion Natasha Jonas, and boxer-turned-UFC fighter Holly Holm.
The fighters argue that their sport has been “underpromoted and undercompensated” for too long and that female boxers are not often afforded the same opportunities to “showcase our skill as our male counterparts.”
They advocate for the ability to choose and point out that female boxers compete in MMA with five-minute rounds, the same as their male counterparts.
Even in bare-knuckle boxing, women and men compete with the same rules.
Serrano made history last year when she and Irishwoman Katie Taylor became the first women to headline a fight at the world-famous arena, Madison Square Garden.
Taylor won the match in a split decision in front of a sellout crowd.
