Amanda Serrano to defend featherweight titles vs. Erika Cruz - ESPN

Amanda Serrano will step back into the ring to defend her WBO and WBA featherweight titles against Erika Cruz in front of her hometown fans at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 3, 2026, and broadcast globally on DAZN, ESPN confirmed on Tuesday.

The fight will be a rematch of their exciting and bloody 2023 encounter, which Serrano won by unanimous decision and became Puerto Rico's first undisputed champion in the four-belt era. The rematch, however, will be contested under different rules as Serrano-Cruz 2 will be fought under equal rules to men with 10, three-minute rounds.

«Every time I step into the ring, I fight for all women, for equality and for Puerto Rico,» Serrano said in a statement. «Getting to fight three-minute rounds in a unified world title defense in front of my people will be one of the proudest moments of my career. When I got injured last March, I promised I'd come back to fight in Puerto Rico, and now the moment is finally here.»

Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs) will be stepping into the ring for the first time since her July loss to undisputed junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor, which headlined an all-women's fight card on Netflix. Although she went 0-3 against Taylor, their rivalry was instrumental to the current boom in women's boxing. Now 37, Serrano is looking forward to competing in front of her hometown after she was forced to pull out of her December 2023 fight with Nina Meinke in Puerto Rico just minutes before the fight due to an eye injury.

«I want to thank Erika Cruz for her choice to face me over 10 x 3:00 (minute rounds) and for joining me in making this statement for equality in women's boxing,» Serrano said. «Together, we are showing all the young girls out there