Mexican Yamileth Mercado, super bantamweight champion of the World Boxing Council (WBC), said on Tuesday that her fight against Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano comes at the best moment of her career.
“It is my best moment, boxing and physically. I feel that the fight occurs when I can give one of the great fights of my career,” said the 23-year-old fighter, who will challenge Serrano for the featherweight belt, on 29 August in Cleveland.
Mercado, with 18 wins, five by knockout, and two losses, will take on the greatest challenge of his career against Serrano; he will face a rival with 40 wins, a loss and a draw, who wins before the limit three out of four fights and at 32 years old he remains in good physical condition.
“She is a fierce fighter who dies on the line and it will be a war from beginning to end,” he said.
Referring to the similarity between Serrano’s career and that of Philippine legend Manny Pacquiao, who achieved triumphs in divisions far superior to his, “Yeimi” recalled that the Asian ran into Mexican Juan Manuel Márquez, who knocked him out and If the Caribbean woman is like Pacquiao, she can be like Marquez.
“It is a joy to face opponents of that magnitude; when you fight with the best, you look better. It is joyful to face such a strong fighter, with a great story and knowing that I can win is a motivation,” he added.
The Mexican does not come out as a favorite, but she has worked the technique in the team of former world champion Jackie Nava, she has trained with her and, according to her, she only has in mind to be the new featherweight champion of the World Council.
“I go with the hunger to be world champion, when I went to Kenya they told my dad that the pretty face was going to fall off in one or two ’rounds’ and it was a war from beginning to end,” she recalled.
According to Mercado, working with Nava has made her grow and means a new cycle as a professional, with ever greater commitments.
“I have to be a sponge to absorb as much as possible,” he concluded. EFE
