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Amanda Serrano Named To Time's
Inaugural Time100 Sports List
Amanda Serrano joins Oleksandr Usyk and Dana White as the
only three combat sports figures named to the list and is
the only woman in combat sports to receive the honor
NEW YORK, NY – June 9, 2026 – Today, TIME named MVP’s boxing
trailblazer and seven division champion Amanda “The Real
Deal” Serrano (49-4-1, 32 KOs) to the inaugural 2026 TIME100
Sports list, recognizing 100 of the most influential figures
shaping the global sports landscape. Serrano is one of only
three combat sports figures on the list, joining Oleksandr
Usyk and Dana White and is the only woman in combat sports
to receive the honor. The recognition follows Serrano’s
record-breaking success as one of the sport’s most decorated
champions of all time, alongside her trailblazing leadership
in the fight for equality and pay equity in women’s boxing.
“Being named to TIME’s inaugural TIME100 Sports list is an
incredible honor. Throughout my career, I’ve always wanted
to prove that women’s boxing belongs on the biggest stages
in sports and that female fighters deserve the same
opportunities, visibility, and respect as the men,” said
Amanda Serrano. “This recognition is for every woman and
young girl who has fought so far to move this sport forward,
for all the women who have been able to get the platforms
and paydays they deserve. Thank you to Nakisa Bidarian, Jake
Paul, MVP, my team, and my fans in Puerto Rico and around
the world for their support to both make the impact we have
so far, and for the work ahead to continue creating
opportunities for the next generation of women’s boxing.”
"This recognition from TIME is a testament to the
extraordinary impact Amanda Serrano has made on sports and
culture. Her accomplishments as a seven-division world
champion and the most decorated fighter in women's boxing
history speak for themselves, but what truly separates
Amanda is her role as a trailblazer who has transformed what
is possible for female athletes," said Nakisa Bidarian and
Jake Paul, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. "Through
her relentless pursuit of equality, her willingness to
challenge long-standing barriers in the sport, and her
ability to captivate audiences on the biggest stages in the
world, Amanda has paved the way to elevate women's boxing to
unprecedented heights. She stands among only three combat
sports figures on the entire list and is the only woman in
combat sports to receive this honor. We are proud to call
Amanda MVP's first signee, and there is no one more
deserving of a place on TIME's inaugural TIME100 Sports list
than the GOAT of women's boxing."
Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano is the first-ever Puerto
Rican undisputed world champion and the most decorated
fighter in women’s boxing history, recognized by the
Guinness World Records for the most boxing world
championships won by a female in different weight classes.
Serrano, currently the unified featherweight champion
holding the WBO, WBA and Ring Magazine titles, is Most
Valuable Promotions’ first signee, who also signed the first
ever lifetime combat sports contract with MVP and will
become Chairwoman of MVP’s women's boxing initiatives to
lead the company’s efforts in identifying, signing,
developing and marketing the promotion’s growing roster of
female athletes post her in-ring retirement. Serrano faced
off against Katie Taylor for the first time at Madison
Square Garden in April 2022, making history as the first
women’s fight to headline Madison Square Garden, earning
global acclaim and winning Sports Illustrated’s Fight of the
Year and The Ring’s Event of the Year for 2022. Taylor vs.
Serrano was also nominated for Sports Business Journal’s
Event of the Year, a testament to the global reach and power
of the event. Following the historic bout, Serrano defeated
Sarah Mahfoud and Erika Cruz en-route to becoming the
undisputed featherweight champion. She successfully defended
her undisputed title in August 2023 against Heather Hardy
before making history again, defeating Danila Ramos in
October 2023 in the first-ever women’s unified world
championship contested over 12 three-minute rounds—equal to
a men’s championship fight. She threw a career-high 1,103
punches in the bout, solidifying her status as a trailblazer
for gender equality in boxing. In recognition of her
achievements inside and outside the ring, Serrano was named
the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Female
Fighter of the Year for 2023, as well as Sports
Illustrated’s and Boxing Scene’s 2023 Women’s Fighter of the
Year. She continued her dominance in July 2024, scoring a
second-round knockout victory over Stevie Morgan in a super
lightweight bout.
Serrano went on to face Katie Taylor in the most anticipated
women’s boxing rematch in modern history in the co-main
event of MVP’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card on Netflix in
November 2024. The undisputed super lightweight title fight
averaged 74 million live viewers globally and became the
most-watched professional women’s sports event in US history
with 47 million AMA in the US. The bout ended in a
razor-thin decision victory for Taylor, sparking global
debate and skyrocketing Serrano’s social following to over
1.2 million. #Serrano also trended at #2 on X in the US,
Brazil, Spain, and Canada post-fight, further cementing her
status as a global icon. Serrano then faced Taylor a third
and final time atop an all-women’s event at Madison Square
Garden, commanding the world’s attention once again on
Netflix, continuing to break barriers for women in combat
sports with a historic trilogy. Serrano made her
long-awaited homecoming to Puerto Rico in a unified
featherweight title defense of her WBO and WBA featherweight
titles in January 2026, defeating challenger Reina Tellez.
In May 2026, Serrano made her MVPW and ESPN debut on
MVPW-03, the new year-round global platform for women’s
boxing from MVP showcasing the sport’s most elite female
fighters with championship bouts on every card. She faced
mandatory challenger Cheyenne Hanson, earning a second-round
TKO. With the win, Serrano officially tied the all-time
women’s knockout record with 32 career KOs.
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