TAMPA – Amanda Serrano is one win away from entering the biggest fight in women’s boxing history.

All that means to the record-setting seven division titlist is that her upcoming fight with Spain’s Miriam Gutierrez is the most important of her storied career.

“I never overlook who is in front of me,” Serrano told krikya360.com. “My entire career, I’ve always trained like I’m the underdog, like. I’m challenger who is fighting the champion. A lot of times that has been the case (laughs), but every opponent I face is a world champion I have to beat to get to the next one.

"Once you start looking around, looking past your opponent in the present, the future you’re looking for will never be there.”

Looming overhead for Serrano (41-1-1, 30KOs) is a super fight with undisputed lightweight queen Katie Taylor (20-0, 6KOs), who did her part to preserve the bout following a ten-round win over Firuza Sharipova last weekend in Liverpool, England. Serrano—a Puerto Rican southpaw based out of the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York—will move up two divisions from her current WBC/WBO/IBO featherweight title reign, first for her upcoming clash versus Gutierrez (14-1, 5KOs) which serves as the co-feature of a Showtime Pay-Per-View event this Saturday from AMALIE Arena in Tampa. Headlining the show, content creator Jake Paul (4-0, 3KOs)—whose Most Valuable Promotions currently represents Serrano—faces former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley (0-1 as a boxer) in a rematch to their August 29 Showtime PPV headliner, won by Paul via split decision.

Serrano has not campaigned at the weight since August 2014, when she knocked out Maria Maderna in six rounds to win the second of her seven divisional titles on the road in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was among her most memorable performances to date, though looking to add to her legacy which would be mission accomplished with a win over Taylor.

Such a fight is being targeted for next spring, likely at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Those details will be of more interest to Serrano beginning December 19.

For now, job one is to make sure nothing happens this Saturday to ruin those plans. Gutierrez enters as the naturally bigger fighter and whose lone loss came to Taylor in a title bid last November. The Spaniard would love nothing more than to get a second shot at the world title, no less at the expense of ruining a blockbuster fight for Serrano.

“I know everyone wants to talk about Katie Taylor, and it’s a big, big fight,” notes Serrano, “But for this camp, all of my focus has been on Miriam Gutierrez. This girl is the only name that’s mattered to me. She’s in my way right now."

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox