Interviews

Published on August 20th, 2016 | by Jameelah "Just Jay" Wilkerson

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World Boxing Champions Cindy and Amanda Serrano!

Cindy and Amanda Serrano or The Serrano Sisters as they are known in the industry are the only world champion female siblings in Professional boxing today. Unlike with the men where this is common. Both sisters are multi world champions, Amanda 26 is a three time three division world champion. Currently she is the UBF featherweight world champion and was formerly the WBO lightweight world champion and also the IBF super featherweight world Champion. Cindy 33 is a two time two division world champion. Currently she’s the UBF lightweight world champion and was formerly the UBF super featherweight world champion.

With their beauty and incredible boxing skills these sisters have been making the transition from boxing to the mainstream fairly easy. Just last year they decided to venture off of boxing a little bit and have been met with great response.

The sisters have been featured in over 25 magazines, graced the cover of six. (Did huge spreads for top magazines) an 8 page spread for Muscle & Fitness Hers as well as a 12 page spread for the high fashioned XEX Magazine.

They were featured on National TV, American Latino channel 5, Telemundo channel 47’s Luz de America. A special sports edition program for fox 5 by Duke Castiglione. Also on an Emmy winning documentary/ Latino Americans of NY for channel 13

They just finished shooting for ‘Fight Valley’ a movie co-staring MMA Fighters Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm.

Cindy and Amanda have also been featured in 5 music videos alongside music greats Loaded Lux, RedMan, Method Man, Cuban Link, & R&B legends Force MD’s.

With all these blessings coming their way the sisters are big on giving back. Cindy and Amanda did a 5k run for battered women in NJ this past year, did four meet and greet events (Motivational speaking) for the Boys & Girls Club of NY. They Funded a battered Mother & Child shelter gift event and a Toys For Tots this past Christmas. They are on the board of an Anti bullying campaign called Worthy Lifestyles.

Cindy and Amanda are going to continue building their brand & giving back to those in need. ‘Getting & Giving are the two best feelings’ They should always go together!’ Says Amanda

They created a Magazine BodyNStyle to give those whom are worthy of having their story told but haven’t gotten the opportunity. “Life is about just that! Getting the right opportunity and maximizing it.” Adds Cindy

KP: It’s such a pleasure to be here at the Serrano sisters house, thank you guys for having the phoenix here!
SS: Thank you for coming

KP: It’s a pleasure being amongst women in boxing so empowering. I love it! I think you guys are great and for you both to embrace a sport and work together it’s fantastic. So i think the first sequence of questions should start with Who got into boxing first? Why boxing?
CS: Unfortunately it was me (Laughs) honestly I just wanted to lose weight just your basic shed a few pounds so I went to the gym. Jordan who is my trainer also my boyfriend owned a boxing gym and he’s like ‘the best way I know to lose weight and lose fat is boxing so let’s try that!’. Now I just look and i think to myself ‘if people only knew once you step in that squared circle it’s a game changer’ I just keep my mouth shut now cause it takes a lot of guts to get in there and you have all the idiots on the outside telling you ‘you should do this or that’.

KP: It’s not easy! anything you have a passion for or strive to get is never easy. It’s never easy to get there but that’s what makes it so much better when you finally get there.
AS: Yes yes, so true

KP: Specially being a women in boxing. Like you said when you started there weren’t that many women in boxing so you helped pave the way for women to be able to say ‘hey i can do that too.’ and that’s fantastic.
AS: Yea if it wasn’t for her (points at Cindy) opening the doors for me I wouldn’t have been where i am today.
CS: Especially in the early two thousands when you could literally write it on the back of a postage stamp there were maybe about 20 women competing at different weight classes you had Leila Ali, Christy Martin, & Mia St. John’s. There really wasn’t a lot. I personally did it because it was something that I liked. I didn’t even think of the money the money isn’t that great now so you could imagine what it was 10 years ago it was peanuts.

KP: How many years apart are you guys?
CS: 6 years apart
AS: People when we’re not together they think we’re twins and i’m like ‘no! no! no! that would mean i’m old! (laughs) that’s a compliment towards her (points at Cindy) but disrespect towards me’ no no but yea when I started it was a lot easier for me to even do the movements cause it’s like I already knew.

KP: Yea it was embedded in you. You watched it as you grew up so it became your natural instinct.
CS: iI’s great because some of my friends are like ‘I can’t believe that you actually made it’ It’s cool cause those are the girls that i actually envied growing up cause i wanted to be them. They were the popular ones, they had nice clothing, they had money and i was always the one that grew up with hand me down’s from my brother and stuff like that. I see them now and they’re like ‘oh my god!’ So cool they’re asking me for autographs and to go out!’ ‘we gotta do this or that’,

KP: I mean you’re a success story no matter what! you showed that it’s worth it at the end. So what kind of music gets you amped up to come to the gym?
AS: OH! Hardcore rap! (laughs)
CS: 90’s rap the old school DMX
AS: My work out song is by my trainer’s son Jordan Maldonado jr. Aka (Kid Freshh) he wrote it for me and nailed it to the T! He was at the Barclays center the night of my fight and his song was playing when I came out and walked to the ring. He was like ‘oh my god!’
CS: Yea he was like ‘that’s me!’ it was an awesome feeling

KP: It’s nice cause you’re including the people around you. As we go up people have to understand we as a society we keep people down we step on people’s toes and as females we want to tear each other up just to get to the top but if we can come together we’ll be unstoppable.

KP: I know you guys did a couple music videos tell me about that.
AS: Yes it was an amazing experience the first one was ‘Rite’ with Loaded Lux, RedMan & Method Man. Lux was great he’s incredible.
CS: He was very sincere, Lux was a sweetheart you don’t see that often from hardcore battle rappers.
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KP: We don’t see all the training and all the discipline that happens before the fight.
AS: Training is hard work! I hate the training i love fighting (Laughs). We have two different styles of fighting she’s an orthodox boxer i’m a south paw brawler. We’re totally different fighters actually! I’t all depends on what style you enjoy to watch in a fighter we have them both in her and I.

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KP: So I think one day the phoenix needs to come to that boxing gym and I would love to see you two guys in the ring
AS: Yes It’s fun I mean people stop working out and hitting the bag just to watch us spar, they’ll say ‘god this is better than half the fights we watch on tv!’ it does me good to spar with her because she knows me so well, she takes my punches well and she makes me work so hard. At the end i’m like (grrrrr!) stop it, because it’s not going to be this hard in the fight (laughs)
CS: It’s funny because I know how to mess with her I push her buttons she gets so pissed but you know we have contrasting style and she might be fighting someone like me. Slick and crafty!.

KP: Would you ever fight each other?
CS: Everyone wants to be number one in their sport there’s plenty of brothers that compete against each other i said ‘we’ll do it’ who will win? It’s a toss up if she catches me I’m out for the count but! I’m very elusive and I’m on my toes a lot so if she can’t hit me she can’t hurt me which is my motto. Would it be awkward? It would be awkward!
AS: oh yea!
CS: Once that bell rings she has her alter ego which is ‘The Real Deal’ I have mine which is ‘Checkmate’ in boxing anything can happen and it’s not like I don’t have knockout power I mean I don’t have the knockout punch that she has but I have a few knockouts but it’s just one of those things that if we were to do it it’s only for a legacy. So we won’t be forgotten cause you know the new era comes in (laughs)

PXTA5759KP: I don’t think the Serrano Sisters will be forgotten.

KP: So what about social media where can we find you?
AS: Well we have the 3 basics. On Twitter, Instagram @serranosisters
and on facebook it’s Cindy N Amanda Serrano
CS: Also our website www.theserranosisters.com and our magazine which is called Body & Style Magazine.

KP: Nice! So you’re combining fashion and sport all in one I think that’s fantastic.
CS: It’s our way to venturing out you can’t just stay stuck in one place

KP: Sky’s the limit!!
CS: Exactly! sky’s is the limit
AS: Yea plus I don’t see myself getting punched in the face for too long (laughs)

KP: Is there anything else you want our readers to know about you guys?
AS: We want this platform to show the young girls that we’re here and we’re here to stay we have to make a statement
CS: Who knows maybe be president (laughs)

KP: Who knows like I said Sky’s the limit?
AS: Exactly there’s a woman running to be president now.

KP: Well it was a pleasure meeting with you two and working with you guys. I mean you guys are very humble thank you for opening your home and I look forward to your projects and things you have coming up and I hope I can be apart of it again.
CS: Yea and you can see us on the big screen we just wrapped up Fight Valley.

KP: That’s awesome well thanks again and thank you and good luck in your upcoming projects.

By: Kelly Phoenix
Photo Credit: Valentino Caviar

 

 

 

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Interviewed by Kelly Phoenix



About the Author

Publisher and CEO of The Hype Magazine. Follow me on Twitter @HypeJustJay


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