BOXER Miriam Gutierrez was barely recognisable after being peppered with 236 punches during her defeat to Amanda Serrano.
The Spaniard was a heavy underdog heading into the clash with seven-weight world champion Serrano on the undercard of Jake Paul’s rematch against Tyron Woodley in Florida.
And the fight went how many people expected, with Serrano dominating the entire bout before securing a wide unanimous decision – 99-91, 99-90, 100-90.
During the ten two-minute rounds the Puerto Rican superstar landed a sickening 237 punches – with Gutierrez eating 37 punches in the first round alone.
The punishment she took was evident after the contest as she was snapped posing with Serrano with a shockingly swollen face.
And Serrano showed her respect for Gutierrez as she praised the Madrid-born boxer’s toughness.
She said: “I want to thank my dance partner Miriam Gutiérrez. She didn’t come to lay down.
“I don’t care who is in front of me, I’m not coming to play! She just told me she weighed 160lbs today. Thank god I worked with my girl Nisa Rodriguez who was at 165lbs.
“She’s a tough fighter. She did say she was in better shape this time than when she fought Katie Taylor because she had a year lay-off.
“Now, she just had a fight last month that she won. I fought the best Miriam Gutierrez and I beat her.
“This isn’t a sad or bitter loss, it’s a dignified one, it was a war from the get go until the end. It’s been an honour.
“I wanted to be a complete fighter. The knockout, if it came, it came. But I just wanted to make sure that I beat her.
“The strategy was to just go out there and just beat her, beat her every single round and dominate her. Just box and show that I’m an all-around fighter.
“That I could do whatever I want. I can brawl with her. I can box with her. Body shots, head shots.”
Meanwhile, Serrano, who is now managed by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, is hoping to secure a mouthwatering clash against undisputed lightweight champion Taylor in early 2022.
Taylor also beat Gutierrez by unanimous decision last year and has followed that up with three more wins in 2021 – the latest of which came against Firuza Sharipova earlier this month.
Serrano and Taylor looked set to face off in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic led to negotiations breaking down.
But now Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn is confident a deal can be reached to get the two legends together in the ring for ‘the biggest fight in women’s boxing history’.
Speaking last month about the fight, he told The Mirror: “We’ve been speaking with Most Valuable Promotions and we want to do it here in New York.
“Katie and Serrano fight in December, so I’m looking for the end of April for that fight, or something like that.
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“Jake [Paul] is still the mind behind the operation. I think Jake has taken a liking to Amanda Serrano, he’s given her a great platform and pushed her profile considerably.
“And he wants to be the guy that makes the biggest fight of all time in women’s boxing.
“It’s partly because he likes Amanda, and partly as an ego trip where he can turn around and get a huge payday for Amanda, give her the biggest fight of all time and say ‘I did that’.”
