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Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today announced that boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight champion Amanda \u201cThe Real Deal\u201d Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs) will now face Boxlab Promotions\u2019undefeated Reina Tellez (13-0-1, 5 KOs) for the unified WBA and WBO world titles on Saturday, January 3 from Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, live globally on DAZN. Former WBC Youth featherweight champion Reina Tellez now replaces Erika Cruz in the 10-round world title bout contested under men\u2019s rules with three-minute rounds, following an atypical finding in Erika Cruz\u2019s Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing conducted prior to the event. Tickets for Serrano vs. Tellez are on sale now at prticket.com. <\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the atypical finding in Erika Cruz\u2019s VADA testing prior to the event, Team Serrano was not willing to move forward with the fight. MVP unequivocally supports the decision as we never want one of our athletes to feel they are competing in a potentially unfair bout,\u201d said Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. \u201cWe look forward to supporting Amanda as she now takes on Reina Tellez, a hungry contender with a highly decorated amateur background and outstanding pro career to date.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amanda \u201cThe Real Deal\u201d Serrano is the first-ever Puerto Rican undisputed world champion and the most decorated fighter in women\u2019s boxing history, recognized by the Guinness World Records for the most boxing world championships won by a female in different weight classes. Serrano is Most Valuable Promotions\u2019 first signee, who also signed the first ever lifetime combat sports contract with MVP and will become Chairwoman of MVP\u2019s women\u2019s boxing initiatives to lead the company\u2019s efforts in identifying, signing, developing and marketing the promotion\u2019s growing roster of female athletes post her in-ring retirement. Serrano faced off against Katie Taylor for the first time at Madison Square Garden in April 2022, making history as the first women\u2019s fight to headline Madison Square Garden, earning global acclaim and winning Sports Illustrated\u2019s Fight of the Year and The Ring\u2019s Event of the Year for 2022. Taylor vs. Serrano was also nominated for Sports Business Journal\u2019s Event of the Year, a testament to the global reach and power of the event. Following the historic bout, Serrano defeated Sarah Mahfoud and Erika Cruz en-route to becoming the undisputed featherweight champion. She successfully defended her undisputed title in August 2023 against Heather Hardy before making history again, defeating Danila Ramos in October 2023 in the first-ever women\u2019s unified world championship contested over 12 three-minute rounds\u2014equal to a men\u2019s championship fight. She threw a career-high 1,103 punches in the bout, solidifying her status as a trailblazer for gender equality in boxing. In recognition of her achievements inside and outside the ring, Serrano was named the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Female Fighter of the Year for 2023, as well as Sports Illustrated\u2019s and Boxing Scene\u2019s 2023 Women\u2019s Fighter of the Year. She continued her dominance in July 2024, scoring a second-round knockout victory over Stevie Morgan in a super lightweight bout.<\/p>\n
Serrano went on to face Katie Taylor in the most anticipated women\u2019s boxing rematch in modern history in the co-main event of MVP\u2019s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card on Netflix in November 2024. The undisputed super lightweight title fight averaged 74 million live viewers globally and became the most-watched professional women\u2019s sports event in US history with 47 million AMA in the US. The bout ended in a razor-thin decision victory for Taylor, sparking global debate and skyrocketing Serrano\u2019s social following to over 1.2 million. #Serrano also trended at #2 on X in the US, Brazil, Spain, and Canada post-fight, further cementing her status as a global icon. Serrano then faced Taylor a third and final time atop an all-women\u2019s event at Madison Square Garden, commanding the world\u2019s attention once again on Netflix, continuing to break barriers for women in combat sports with a historic trilogy. Serrano now makes her long-awaited homecoming to Puerto Rico on Saturday, January 3, set to face Tellez in an explosive meeting of two of the sport\u2019s top 126lb stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m disappointed the original fight couldn\u2019t move forward, but my priority has always been respect for the sport,\u201d said Amanda Serrano. \u201cReina Tellez is a tough opponent who\u2019s earned this opportunity, and I am up for the challenge. Fighting at home in Puerto Rico, defending my world titles, and continuing to push women\u2019s boxing forward under equal rules means everything to me. Saturday, January 3, is about showing the world once again what Puerto Rican fighters are made of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reina Tellez, a Team USA veteran who took up boxing in 2012, quickly established herself among the elites of the amateur scene. Her accolades include winning gold at the 2015 and 2017 National Junior Olympics, winning the 2018 National Golden Gloves championship, and back-to-back silver medals at the 2018 and 2019 National Junior Olympics. After making her pro debut in 2021\u2013the lone technical draw on her record\u2013she returned to boxing in 2023 and began her rise, winning her next three bouts by TKO. In June 2024, Tellez defeated Hungarian prospect Beata Dudek on the undercard of Gervonta Davis vs Frank Martin in Las Vegas. Just three weeks later in July 2024, Tellez successfully outpointed Wendellin Cruz to win the vacant WBC Youth featherweight title by unanimous decision, before dropping down to win the NABF super bantamweight and bantamweight titles later that year. The 22-year-old Tellez, of Irish-Mexican heritage, most recently defeated Mayela Perez by unanimous decision in September 2025. She resides in San Antonio, Texas and is represented by Boxlab Promotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the moment I\u2019ve been fighting for my whole life. To step into the ring with a champion like Amanda Serrano, someone I\u2019ve looked up to, is an honor, but I\u2019m not here just to share the spotlight,\u201d said Reina Tellez. \u201cI\u2019m here to win. I represent San Antonio, I represent every fighter chasing a dream, and I\u2019m coming with everything I\u2019ve got. On fight night, the world\u2019s going to see just how hungry I am to make history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Serrano vs. Tellez will feature 12 additional bouts. In the co-main event, MVP\u2019s reigning WBA lightweight world champion Stephanie Han (11-0, 3 KOs) will defend her title against the most dominant two-sport athlete in combat sports history, former boxing and UFC champion, MVP\u2019s Holly \u201cThe Preacher\u2019s Daughter\u201d Holm (34-2-3, 9 KOs) who looks to win a boxing world title in a fourth division. Han vs. Holm will be a 10-round lightweight championship bout at 135 lbs contested under equal rules to men with three-minute rounds, joining Serrano and Tellez in a historic statement for women\u2019s boxing. Also on the card will be former IBF bantamweight world champion and newly signed MVP star Ebanie Bridges (9-2, 4 KOs) making her promotional debut against Alexis Araiza (3-2-1, 1 KO) in an 8-round bout at 118 lbs, MVP\u2019s young Puerto Rican sensation Krystal Rosado (7-1, 2 KOs) vs. Canada\u2019s Tania Walters (7-3, 2 KOs) in a 6-round bantamweight bout contested under equal rules to men with three-minute rounds, MVP\u2019s Puerto Rican Olympian and WBA #1 and WBC #6 contender Yankiel \u201cEl Doctorcito\u201d Rivera (7-0-1, 3 KOs) vs. former WBO world champion Jonathan \u201cBomba\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez (28-4-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round flyweight showdown at 112 lbs; MVP\u2019s featherweight contender Jan Paul Rivera (13-0, 7 KOs) vs. San Juan\u2019s Alfredo \u201cEl Salsero\u201d Cruz (10-3-1, 5 KOs) in an 8-round bout at 126 lbs; undefeated super featherweight Henry \u201cMoncho\u201d Lebron (20-0, 10 KOs) vs. Juan \u201cJohnny Blaze\u201d Tapia (14-4, 5 KOs) in an 8-round contest at 130 lbs; Aguada\u2019s rising talent Chris \u201cThe Punisher\u201d Echevarria (9-1, 4 KOs) vs. Gabriel Bernardi (7-3, 5 KOs) in a 6-round super bantamweight bout at 122 lbs; Naranjito\u2019s Abner Figueroa (7-0, 1 KO) vs. Juana Diaz\u2019s Edwin Rodriguez (12-9-3, 5 KOs) in a 6-round bantamweight bout at 118lbs; Caguas\u2019s Yandiel Lozano (2-0) vs. Sabana Grande\u2019s Johniel Ramos Cotto (3-2, 1 KO) in a 6-round super featherweight bout at 130lbs; Bayamon\u2019s Caleb Tirado vs. Justin Hill in a four round bantamweight bout as both fighters make their professional debut; MVP\u2019s Alex \u201cChop Chop\u201d Chaparro (6-0, 6 KOs) vs. Augusto Leal (3-0, 1 KO) in a 6-round middleweight bout at 160lbs; and MVP\u2019s Raquel Miller (13-0, 6 KOs) making her MVP promotional debut. <\/p>\n
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