Amanda Serrano’s homecoming fight in Puerto Rico on Saturday (March 2) wasn’t meant to be. The main-event match between her and Nina Meinke was canceled minutes before the women were scheduled to meet in the ring.
Before the fight, a doctor said the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission would not approve Serrano to fight because of an eye injury she suffered the night before, which was causing her to have impaired vision.
Once the fight was officially canceled, a visibly emotional Serrano and her promoter, Jake Paul, entered the ring where Serrano apologized to her fans for not being able to box.
“I wanted to fight in front of my people,” Serrano said.
According to Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, Serrano’s eye had become irritated after she used a hair product Thursday night. Although eye drops were prescribed to her, they did not alleviate the irritation in time. In the ring, Paul said that Serrano’s cornea was exposed because of the injury.
On social media, Serrano directed a message to her “beautiful fans…island [and]…fellow fighters” and said that “everyone who knows me knows I’m a warrior, and I would never agree to cancel a fight.” She added, “I would have fought without an eye or arm.”
During the event, MVP announced that attendees would be refunded for their tickets and that Meinke would still be paid for the fight.
“I’m absolutely gutted,” Meinke said. “We all wanted this fight. I wanted this fight. Puerto Rico wanted this fight. I really hope we can make this happen again.”
Currently, Amanda Serrano holds the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine titles.