Women Boxers Seek 12-Round Championship Bouts
Seven division champ, Amanda Serrano (45 – 2 – 1, 30 KO), will defend her IBF, WBO and WBA featherweight titles against Danila Ramos (12 -2, 1 KO), in a fight that will include 12 three-minute rounds, the first time a unified title will be fought at those specifications by women.
Traditionally, women’s title fights are fought at 10 two-minute rounds, which prompted more than two dozen women boxers to join in a statement calling for those specifications to be a standardized option that can be chosen for championship fights.
Other top names to join the statement include undisputed junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron, WBA and WBC strawweight champion Seniesa Estrada, IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas, Mikaela Mayer, Franchon Crews-Dezurn, Holly Holm, Heather Hardy, and Laila Ali.
“As women, we have had to fight inch by inch to earn the same equity and respect freely awarded to men. In our sport, we have made progress, but there is still far to go,” the statement read. “For too long, we have been underpromoted and under-compensated. This has finally started to change as all of us have proven that women’s boxing captures the attention of sports fans and creates moments the world will never forget — and we create these moments despite how rarely we are afforded the same time and opportunity to showcase our skill as our male counterparts.”
“That is why today, we stand together with the desire and dedication to have the CHOICE to perform on the same stage, with the same rules, as men in professional boxing. We have earned the CHOICE of 3-minute rounds, with 12 rounds for championship fights to demonstrate our skill and greatness. We have earned the CHOICE to build a more equal future for fighters everywhere. We hope boxing stakeholders support us just as we have supported them throughout our careers. This is our time, our right and our CHOICE. We are boxing.”
Serrano and her promoter, Most Valuable Promotions, led by Jake Paul, organized the statement, with the support of dozens of her counterparts, in advance of her upcoming fight to close out October 2023.
Layla McCarter, who fought in the last major 12-three-minute round fight in 2007, supported the statement. This follows years of calls from women across the sport.
In 2021, the WBO, IBF, and WBA stated they would support such fights, leaving the WBC as the main holdout among the organizations to oppose. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman stated in 2021 that he would not change his opinion until “there is clear medical research clearance to do any changes.”
Unfortunately, because of the WBC’s opinion and unwillingness to support women fighting at the same specifications as men, the WBC belt will not be on the line even though Amanda Serrano is the undisputed featherweight champion.
Amanda Serrano has been looking for an opponent to embrace the evolution of boxing to allow all fighters to have the choice to perform with the same rules. Katie Taylor said NO, Danila Ramos says YES. The evolution is here. Friday, October 27th, live on DAZN.#amandaserrano… pic.twitter.com/RVNWkpBTIg
— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) September 11, 2023