What To Know
- Unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano scored her 50th victory Friday, but the record-breaking knockout didn’t happen in the Most Valuable Promotions main event.
- Serrano got a much tougher challenge than expected from Argentina’s Lecrecia Manzur and settled for a majority-decision win.
- The card was the first to ever air on TikTok LIVE from the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, scoring 3.4 million views.
Amanda Serrano, without question one of boxing’s all-time greatest women’s pros, found herself concerned about more than breaking the all-time record for knockouts by a woman boxer on Friday. She was at risk of losing her fight against Lucrecia Manzur of Argentina.
But then, Serrano did what world champions do. She dug down and did what it took to win.
WBO/WBA unified World Featherweight champion Serrano of Puerto Rico (50-4-1, 32 KOs) didn’t break the record for all time knockouts for a female professional boxer, but she will leave Temecula, California happy with her 50th professional victory against Manzur (14-5, 7 KOs) by majority decision. Scorecards were 116-112, 116-112, and 114-114 for Serrano.
Serrano remains tied with Hall of Fame trailblazer Christy Martin at 32 knockouts each.
“This girl, I knew she was tough,” said Serrano of Manzur. “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 gate. Let them pass on, but it was truly an honor to be in there with a tough young fighter.”
Amanda Serrano’s Place In Boxing History Assured
Without a doubt, Serrano got a far more difficult test than she counted on. From the opening bell, Manzur came for more than a paycheck and exposure in the United States. She came to deny Serrano both of her goals, and she came close.
Manzur showed excellent punching power from the opening bell, fighting aggressively and accurately with an awkward looping jab to set up high-quality power punching that caught Serrano looking flat. After winning the first two rounds, a hush came over the fans at the Pechanga Casino Resort who had been vocal and enthusiastic throughout the card.
Was Serrano showing her age at 37? Had she come back too quickly after her May 30 fight against Cheyenne Hansen in her eagerness to achieve her two final career goals?
Whatever was happening, Manzur was outworking and outlanding Serrano by a wide margin. After seven rounds, Manzur was ahead on all three scorecards by 69-64 and 67-66 twice.
Seven-Division Champion Serrano Digs Deep
At this point, Serrano had to forget about a knockout and focus on getting the win.
Manzur began to slow down, and Serrano knew she had to dig down and find something to hold off disaster. She began to move better and box better. Her jab started catching Manzur’s slower, less active offense. She targeted Manzur to the body, followed by several damaging uppercuts and hooks.
Serrano and the fans finally came to life as the champion landed her best headshots of the night, followed by uppercuts and body punching that sealed her win in the final round.
Serrano may have asked to fight 12 rounds to add to her historic achievements, but it was likely a tactic to give her the best chance to deliver a knockout win. Instead, it gave her time to catch up and cut down Manzur’s lead. All three judges gave Serrano rounds eight through 12 to give her the decision.
Manzur was gracious after the loss, happy with how close she’d come to a massive upset.
“Tonight was a dream come true to go against a fighter like you,” said Manzur through a translator. “As a boxer, everyone has dreams to go against their idols, and that’s what I did. Although I may be sad that my hand didn’t get raised tonight, it’s going to be (raised) another night.”
An hour after the fight’s conclusion, Serrano posted a message via social media.
Wow this was rough! lol
Honesty the mind tells you one thing but the body does another.
You can fight anyone you want and squeeze out a victory but Father Time isn’t allowing to much of that.
Thank you so much to All my fans you guys are amazing. You’re the reason why I dug in…— Amanda Serrano (@Serranosisters) August 22, 2026
As confirmed by Most Valuable Promotions, Serrano plans one more fight, anticipated to take place in Puerto Rico, giving Serrano one more shot at Christy Martin’s knockout record.
Undercard Fight Results: Harvey Named Performance of the Night
Jahmal Harvey of Oxon Hill, Maryland (4-0, 3 KO) delivered as spectacular a knockout win as you could ask for, flattening Hammet Keb of Mexico (7-3-1, 6 KOs) with a flashy one-two, dropping him cold to the canvas at 2:48 of the second round.
The knockout won him the Performance of the Night bonus, which delighted the fast-rising prospect when he learned about it at the post-fight news conference. Harvey will be a problem for any top junior lightweight.
Harvey was asked what kind of statement he made. “I’m here to fight, I’m here to show the style. I don’t know any different style of boxing. It’s the boxing that hurts. Ain’t no trying to win points. I’m here to try to take heads off.
“I like to give the fans exciting fights … When I give a performance like this, not only am I winning, the fans are winning.” Harvey thanked his Maryland neighbor and former champion Lamont Roach Jr., who he said had been generous working with him and sparring with him from a young age.
And The New: Mortensen Taking Title Back to Denmark
The card’s second title fight delivered thrilling action between former world champion Mayeli Flores and little-known undefeated contender Melissa Mortensen, with the vacant WBA World Super Bantamweight title at stake.
In a gutsy performance, Mortensen of Denmark (10-0, 5 KOs) got the victory over Flores of Mexico (13-3-1, 4 KOs) in a razor-thin split decision by the narrowest possible margin: 95-94, 95-94 for Mortensen, and 95-94 for Flores.
Flores scored a knockdown over Mortensen in the first round, and it seemed the fight might be over quickly. Mortensen stayed in the fight and never gave up. Her stamina and ring generalship helped her overcome the aggressive Flores to pull out a majority decision. Mortensen is the second world champion from Denmark after her sparring partner Dina Thorslund won two weeks ago against Cherneka Johnson.
When I asked Mortensen about the performance of two Danish fighters who are now world champions, she told me, “I think Denmark is showing the world that we are coming here. We are good fighters, and we’re ready to show the world we can box on such a big stage.”
Additional Results: Griffin, Marley, Sibrian, Tiafeck, Verduzco Win
Power-punching welterweight Avious Griffin promised he was coming to impress. After two hard knockdowns at the end of round five from hard right hooks after breaking veteran Jackson Marinez down, mission accomplished. The corner of Marinez of the Dominican Republic (23-5, 11 KOs) decided his night was over, giving Griffin of Chattanooga (20-1, 19 KOs) the win.
THIS KO 👀
AVIOUS GRIFFIN WINS THE WELTERWEIGHT BOUT BY KO DUE TO CORNER RETIREMENT IN THE FIFTH ROUND!
———#SerranoManzur | LIVE NOW | FREE on TikTok📲 pic.twitter.com/kHQGqh6LBB
— MVP – Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) August 22, 2026
“Anybody got a plan until they get hit with the right hand,” said Griffin. “It wasn’t the way I wanted to get him out of there, but a win is a win.” Griffin says he conducts himself as an underdog but added he feels ready for any opponent ranked in the top 15.
Cruiserweight Keno Marley of Brazil (3-0, 2 KOs) delivered a right hook over the temple and ended the night of Braylan Brooks of Texas (1-1, 1 KO) at 1:46 of round three.
Lupita Medina found herself in front of a buzzsaw named Brooke Sibrian. The underdog challenger Sibrian of Coachella, California (10-3, 4 KOs) would not be denied, doing damage and showing off a nonstop engine to earn a decision over Medina of Maywood, California (12-1 3 KOs). Scores were 78-74, 78-74, and 77-75.
“Whenever you’re going through any trials and tribulations in your life, always remember this. God will turn a mess into a message, God will turn a test into a testimony. God will turn a setback to a comeback, baby!” said Sibrian, who thanked her fans throughout Southern California who showed up to support her.
Sibrian and Medina brought the fans to their feet at the end of the final round.
Heavyweight Nelvie Tiafeck (5-0, 4 KOs) took care of his business, drilling Salvador Zavala of Mexico (7-1, 5 KOs) with body shots in three rounds. But it was a head-snapping uppercut that prompted David Solivan to step in for a third-round TKO win at 55 seconds.
The German Olympic silver medalist thanked his fans at home in Germany for staying up late to watch. “Step by step, fight by fight, look at me, this is just my fifth fight, fighting guys with no losses. I didn’t take the easy route, I never did. We’ve been working on things, setting up shots, take it slow, and then trying to get the finish.”
A little ring rust and a bloody nose didn’t stop undefeated featherweight contender “Right Hand” Roxy Verduzco of Los Angeles (8-0, 1 KO) from getting a majority decision win against a solid performance from Miguelina Hernandez of Mexico (4-1, 3 KOs). In Verduzco’s MVP debut, scores were 78-74 and 77-75 for Verduzco, and 78-74 for Hernandez.
“It feels good,” said Verduzco. “I haven’t fought since November. Ring rust is very real. She’s an Olympian; I give her credit. I’m here to stay. I didn’t come to fight somebody that was easy to knock out. I fought an undefeated fighter. It’s only going to get better.”
Fans made the trip from nearby Indio to see Jocelyn Camarillo of Indio, California (7-0, 1 KO) in an all-action fight with Ashley Felix of Mexico (7-5, 1 KO). The two threw plenty of bombs in their minimumweight fight, going the six-round distance with Camarillo picking up the win. Scores were 60-54, 59-55, and 58-54.
Popular Brazilian influencer turned boxer Jully Poca of Brazil (1-1) took her first loss against Cinderella Linnear of Arlington, Texas (2-0) by split decision. Scores for Linnear were 39-37 twice, and the third card 39-37 for Poca. Although Poca landed more total punches, Linnear was the aggressor, landing the harder shots.
“I did all I could do, put it all on the line,” said Linnear. “It was a good performance for me. When I step in, I’m the top dog no matter what they say. That’s how I won this fight tonight.”
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
