(FEB 18)   There is a possibility that Amanda Serrano might have been in danger of becoming a well kept secret in New York's female boxing community; until Wednesday night, that is. In 110 seconds, the hard punching southpaw from Brooklyn added the WBO featherweight title belt to her already impressive array of boxing gold and served notice to all those even vaguely interested in the sport that this hard punching, heavy handed southpaw will, hence, be a force to reckon with amid the burgeoning array of female boxing talent suddenly garnering notoriety in the country's largest market.

In the main event of Joe DiBella's five bout card at BB Kings Club in the heart of Times Square, Serrano overwhelmed tough veteran Olivia Gerula in the first round of a scheduled ten round fight to fill the vacant WBO crown. Serrano, who came to the bout with a twelve fight winning streak, traded outside jabs with Gerula for the first thirty seconds of the contest, before unloading a devastating right hook that sent the Canadian fighter staggering into the ropes and prompted a standing eight count from referee Ricky Gonzalez. Gerula, still groggy, attempted to avoid the charging Serrano who clearly saw the end in sight; the Winnipeg fighter was only successful for so long. Serrano landed a number of lefts and rights as Gerula gamely attempted to survive the round. Trapping her foe once more on the ropes, as the two minute stanza was coming to a close, Serrano unleashed a two fisted barrage and with ringside officials urging a stoppage, Gonzalez signaled a halt to the proceedings. Gerula perfunctorily protested, but there was no doubt, it was the right call. Serrano who came to the bout at 126 pounds raised her record to 27-1-1; Gerula, 123.2 who has, over an eighteen year career, been in with the top fighters in the division went to 17-16-2.

Amanda Serrano has been fighting professionally for almost seven years, compiling, coming into the Wednesday bout, a 26-1-1 record. While she has been based in New York for that time, she has also campaigned extensively in the Dominican Republic, her native Puerto Rico and even Argentina. As a result of those far-from-New York venues, her skills and punching power (the Gerula stoppage was her twentieth) have not received the level of local plaudits accorded some other New York female boxers, who have been spotlighted in high profile venues and whose notoriety, until now, has substantially exceeded that of Serrano. That should change markedly in the near future. A recent signing with DiBella Entertainment (the BB King date was the first under that promotional auspices) should enhance the opportunities that open up for this compelling female boxing attraction. To speculate that a fighter such as Amanda Serrano is exactly the type of impetus needed in a sport that is struggling to regain it's former spot in the minds and hearts of boxing fans, to say nothing of the sports media, is, quite simply, a blinding flash of the obvious. There is no need to look any farther than the performance this fighter provided Wednesday night to measure her star potential. And it happened, appropriately, right around the corner from Broadway.