Manzur refused to give the 37-year-old champion comfortable punching room. The Argentine pressed forward, made Serrano fight off the ropes and produced her strongest work during the fourth round as the champion searched for room to counter.
Serrano answered by attacking the body and catching Manzur coming forward. Her cleaner counters and greater shot variation gradually gave her more control, but Manzur kept forcing exchanges rather than allowing Serrano to dictate the distance.
That resistance produced a far harder night’s work than the champion wanted.
Serrano acknowledged afterward that the 27-year-old challenger brought exactly the sort of pressure she had prepared for.
“I knew she was tough. She’s young. She’s 27. She’s 10 years younger than me. These girls are getting younger, stronger. Thank God I’m almost out of the game.”
The fight also carried an unusual championship format. Serrano defended her unified featherweight belts over 12 two-minute rounds, the first unified women’s world championship contested under those terms.
Manzur’s pressure prevented the night from becoming a comfortable celebration of Serrano’s career. Serrano had to manage the distance, work downstairs and pick her counters rather than simply load up for the stoppage.
The knockout still has significance for her.
Serrano entered chasing the 33rd stoppage of her career, which would move her beyond Christy Martin’s total. Manzur took that possibility away, leaving Serrano to pursue it in what she says will be her final fight.
“We still got that 33rd knockout. I got one more fight. If I don’t get it, I’m glad that I tied with Christy Martin.”
The 50th victory nevertheless gives Serrano another career marker.
“I got the 50th win. That’s a milestone on its own.”
Serrano needs one more knockout, but Manzur showed why chasing it recklessly would be a mistake: start with the jab, work the body and create the finish rather than hunting the KO.
