By Michael Rothstein
Feb 28, 2023
Source: ESPN
Photo Source: Katie Taylor, Photo by Sarah Stier
Undisputed featherweight champion Amanda Serrano is out of her rematch against undisputed lightweight champ Katie Taylor on May 20, Matchroom Boxing and Most Valuable Promotions announced Tuesday.
"Due to an injury sustained by Amanda Serrano, Matchroom Boxing and Most Valuable Promotions regret to announce that the Taylor-Serrano II bout on May 20 in Dublin will not go ahead as planned. The teams are in discussions about finding a revised date for the bout," the release read.
While the specific nature of Serrano's injury has not been disclosed, a source told ESPN that she is dealing with a nagging hand injury dating back to her win over Miriam Gutierrez in December 2021. Serrano has fought three times since that fight, but the amount of punches thrown in Serrano's win over Erika Cruz on Feb. 4 for the undisputed featherweight title -- 949 in a 10-round fight -- led to her hand not bouncing back as it had in her previous fights against Gutierrez, Taylor and Sarah Mahfoud.
While Serrano will not need surgery on the hand, the pain has not subsided at the typical rate, leading to her needing more rest for it to heal before a return to the ring, the source added.
Calls to Serrano's trainer and promoter were unanswered Tuesday morning.
The Taylor-Serrano rematch was originally announced in February, after Serrano's (44-2-1, 30 KOs) victory over Cruz in New York to unify all four major featherweight world titles.
This was to be a homecoming in Ireland for Taylor, an Olympic gold medalist at the 2012 London Games. Taylor has never fought in Ireland as a professional.
Taylor (22-0, 6 KOs) defeated Serrano by split decision in their first match in April 2022 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight was the ESPN women's fight of the year.
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