(Reuters) – Women boxers should have the choice of 12-round title fights like men, undisputed featherweight world champion Amanda Serrano, along with two dozen other current and former female fighters said in a statement on Tuesday.
Women’s championship fights are typically scheduled for no more than 10 rounds with each round lasting two minutes.
Serrano plans to fight 12 rounds at three minutes each for her unified title fight against Danila Ramos later this month in Orlando, Florida, a move that Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) said was supported by the WBO, WBA, and IBF.
The Puerto Rican’s fight is an outlier, however, and will be the first women’s unified championship fight to be fought under the same rules as the men, according to Sky Sports.
“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,” the fighters’ statement read.
“We have earned the CHOICE of 3 minute rounds, with 12 rounds for championship fights to demonstrate our skill and greatness.”
The statement was backed by Laila Ali, Britain’s two-weight world champion Natasha Jonas and boxer-turned-UFC fighter Holly Holm.
The fighters said their sport had been “underpromoted and undercompensated” for too long and that female boxers are not often afforded the same opportunities to “showcase our skill as our male counterparts.”
“We are advocating for the ability to choose,” Serrano said.
“Female boxers compete in MMA with 5 minute rounds, the same as their male counterparts. Even in bare knuckle boxing, women and men compete with the same rules.”
Serrano was part of boxing history last year when she and Irishwoman Katie Taylor became the first women to headline a fight at the world famous arena, Madison Square Garden.
Taylor won in a split decision in front of a sellout crowd.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Toby Davis)
