Brenda Karen Carabajal has agreed to stand down to allow Amanda Serrano to further unify the featherweight division.
The hope now is that the favor will be returned in due course.
Carabajal of Argentina was once due to face Serrano (43-2-1, 30KOs) in a WBO featherweight title consolidation clash scheduled for August 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was canceled after losing its main event, and the fight was never rescheduled.
At least not yet.
“I am waiting to hear a new fight date,” Carabajal told BoxingScene.com. “I hope we get it soon.”
Carabajal (18-5-1, 9KOs) entered the mix after winning the interim WBO featherweight title in a ten-round majority decision victory over Debora Anahi Dionicius on May 13 in San Lorenzo, Argentina. The interim title fight was approved after Brooklyn’s Serrano was allowed to challenge Ireland’s Katie Taylor (21-0, 6KOs) for the undisputed lightweight championship on April 30 at Madison Square Garden.
Serrano lost a hotly contested split decision in his instant classic, deciding immediately after the fight to return to featherweight. The WBO instructed the Brooklyn-raised Puerto Rican southpaw to face Carabajal. His postponed August 6 has not yet returned to the calendar; Serrano was approved by the WBO to participate first in a title unification fight with Sarah Mahfoud of Denmark. Serrano won a ten-round unanimous decision to defend his WBC/WBO featherweight titles and win the IBF belt last Saturday at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
Understandably, most of the post-fight questions about Serrano’s future focused on two others. The demand remains for a desired rematch with Taylor, as well as a showdown with WBA champion Erika Cruz (15-1, 3KOs) for the undisputed featherweight championship.
There is a possibility that a different form of unfinished business will have to be carried out beforehand.
“I have waited a long time for this fight,” Carabajal said. “I have dedicated a lot of time and effort to this opportunity, I have sacrificed a lot of time away from home. I hope we can fight soon.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
