Brenda Karen Carabajal agreed to stand down to allow Amanda Serrano to further unify the featherweight division.

The hope now is that the favor is returned in a timely fashion.

Argentina’s Carabajal was once due to face Serrano (43-2-1, 30KOs) in a WBO featherweight title consolidation clash scheduled for August 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was canceled after losing its main event, with the bout never rescheduled.

At least not yet.

“I’m waiting to hear a new fight date,” Carabajal told BoxingScene.com. “I hope we get it soon.”

Carabajal (18-5-1, 9KOs) entered the mix after winning the interim WBO featherweight title in a ten-round, majority decision win over Debora Anahi Dionicius on May 13 in San Lorenzo, Argentina. The interim title fight was approved after Brooklyn’s Serrano was permitted to challenge Ireland’s Katie Taylor (21-0, 6KOs) for the undisputed lightweight championship on April 30 at Madison Square Garden.

Serrano dropped a tightly contested split decision in their instant classic, deciding immediately after the fight to return to featherweight.

The WBO instructed the Brooklyn-bred, Puerto Rican southpaw to next face Carabajal. Their postponed August 6 has yet to make its way back onto the schedule, though for good reason—Serrano was approved by the WBO to first enter a more favorable title unification bout with Denmark’s Sarah Mahfoud.

Carabajal's last defeat came at the hands of Mahfoud, who scored a lopsided decision win in their February 2020 interim IBF featherweight title fight. Serrano had a considerably easier time with Mahfoud, winning a a ten-round, unanimous decision to defend her WBC/WBO featherweight titles and win the IBF belt this past Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester, England.

Understandably, most of the post-fight questions regarding Serrano’s future were centered around two other others. There remains demand for a desired rematch with Taylor, as well as showdown with WBA titlist Erika Cruz (15-1, 3KOs) for the undisputed featherweight championship.

There is a chance that a different form of unfinished business will have to take place beforehand.

“I’ve waited a long time for this fight,” stated Carabajal. “I have dedicated a lot of time and effort to this opportunity, sacrificed a lot of time away from home. I hope that we get to fight soon.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox