Nina Meinke wants to become featherweight world champion – and faces the biggest fight of her career so far
On Sunday night, Berlin professional boxer Nina Meinke (30) will be going for four world championship belts in the biggest fight of her career to date – and making history at the same time. In the featherweight fight against superstar Amanda Serrano in Puerto Rico, Meinke will be the first German to step into the ring for twelve rounds of three minutes. “I’m proud to be 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 the men. The women’s laps usually only last two minutes.
Meinke (record: 18 wins, three defeats), known as “The Brave”, is the mandatory challenger for Serrano (46-2-1), who is regarded as the best female boxer in the world alongside Ireland’s Katie Taylor and holds the IBF, WBO, WBA and IBO world championship belts – she voluntarily returned the WBC belt because the association does not allow fights over the men’s distance.
“I’m just over the moon to be here. I want to be the smiling winner at the end of the fight. It will be a great fight, we will 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 in Serrano’s home country as the underdog. But Meinke believes in her chances: “I’m ready. “
