The Berlin professional boxer Nina Meinke will reach for four world championship belts in the biggest fight of her career to date on Sunday night – and at the same time make history.
In the featherweight fight against superstar Amanda Serrano in Puerto Rico, Meinke will be the first German to get into the ring for twelve rounds of three minutes each. “I am proud to be a part of this movement,” said Meinke.
Serrano is the leader of a protest movement that is campaigning for the equalization of lap times compared to men. The rounds for women usually only last two minutes.
Meinke (record: 18 wins, three defeats), fighting name “The Brave”, is the mandatory challenger of Serrano (46-2-1), who is considered the best boxer in the world alongside the Irish Katie Taylor and is the world champion. She holds belts from the IBF, WBO, WBA and IBO associations – she voluntarily gave up the WBC belt because the association does not allow fights over the men’s distance.
“I’m just overjoyed to be here. At the end of the fight I want to be the smiling winner. It’s going to be a great fight, we’ll show the world what women are capable of,” said Meinke.
The goddaughter of German boxing icon Sven Ottke is number one in the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO rankings, but goes into the fight on Sunday morning (1:00 a.m. CET) in Serrano’s homeland as an outsider. But Meinke believes in her chance: “I’m ready.”