By Mike Stafford: Some times in life, it’s about the journey. And it’s been quite a journey for Cindy Serrano. Her ring record reads like an exotic travel itinerary. Sweden, France, the Dominican Republic and Las Vegas.
It has certainly been a winding road for the hard-hitting lightweight out of Brooklyn. But now, all roads lead to Franklin Square, Long Island and a shot at the vacant WIBA lightweight title.
Serrano meets Kerri Hill for the title in the main event of boxing show called “Shamrock in the Park” on August 11 at the Plattduetsche Park Restaurant. It is the first time since February of 2007 that Serrano will be fighting in the metropolitan area.
“I’ve fought all over,” said Serrano, 15-5-2 with seven knockouts. “I am so glad to be coming back to New York for this title fight. It’s been a long time and I’ve got all my fans looking forward to a great fight. I’m coming home!”
Serrano, 30, turned pro in 2003 and went unbeaten in her first 16 fights. But that’s when the lure of better paydays and title fights led her to begin traveling. She also began fighting outside of her natural weight range of 130 to 135 pounds.
“We had opportunities that made sense, financially, to fight some of the top women in the world at 150 pounds,” said her trainer and husband, Jordan Maldanado. “We fought them at their weight and in their own backyards. Now Cindy is getting back to her natural weight. The confidence is there, the training has been excellent and come August 11, Kerri Hill is going to be in trouble.”
“Cindy has always demonstrated talent and courage inside the ring,” said Ring Promotion’s Bob Duffy, who is promoting the event. “She’s a pioneer. Cindy has always been ahead of her time.”
Women’s boxing reached it’s peak during the prime of Christy Martin. Her success opened the door for fighters like Lucia Rijker and Laila Ali. But the sport has been relatively quiet over the last few years. And even though female fights have been contested in the prestigious New York Golden Gloves since 1992, it’s only now debuting in the Olympics. That’s right, women’s boxing makes its historic debut at this summer’s Olympic Games in London.
“I think it’s awesome that women are fighting in the London Olympics,” said Serrano. “I think it’s just what the sport needed. We fight very hard and never get the recognition. Hopefully a lot of people will tune in to women’s boxing at the Olympics and that will open more doors for us.”
It’s an interesting card. Not only is there a woman’s title bout on top, but it will feature the Long Island debut of the critically acclaimed Off Broadway boxing play, Kid Shamrock.
Kid Shamrock, based on the life and career of former contender Bobby Cassidy, is made up of a cast that features world-class professional boxers. Among them are Mark Breland (Olympic gold medalist, two-time welterweight champ), John Duddy (IBA middleweight champ), Seamus McDonagh (fought Evander Holyfield), Mark McPherson (world-ranked junior middleweight) and Junior Jones (five-time champ). It’s being directed by former WBO heavyweight champion Michael Bentt.
The cast also includes veteran actor Vinny Vella, who has appeared on “The Sopranos,” and in “Casino.” The other bouts on the card feature Michael Brooks in an IBA Youth lightweight title fight against Joey Arroyo, former National amateur heavyweight champion Adam Willet and unbeated welterweight prospect Rich “Kid Brazil” Neves.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Michael Bentt, director of Kid Shamrock. “I’ve seen some of these prospects fight and I am telling you the future looks bright for them. The cast is ready, the fighters are ready, don’t miss this.”
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