Red Owl Boxing today announced the promotion’s first-ever live event to feature a women’s title bout when it returns to El Paso, Texas on Friday, Oct. 2.
Tickets for the “Red Owl Boxing Presents Boxfest XXI” event at El Paso County Coliseum are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.
The ‘Boxfest XXI’ main card, including the women’s title fight, will stream live on DAZN, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT.
In an eight-round main event battle for the vacant women’s World Boxing Association (WBA) North American Boxing Association (NABA) super flyweight (115 pounds) title, undefeated Melanie Timko (5-0) will face off with former world championship challenger, Naomy “Kusa” Cardenas (10-2, 2 KO’s).
The Red Owl Boxing co-main event will feature the return of super featherweight (130 pounds) star, Deonte “Lay ‘Em Down” Brown (18-0, 11 KO’s), who will square off with hard-hitting Leonardo Padilla (25-7-1, 17 KO’s).
“We are excited to promote a women’s title fight on a Red Owl Boxing card for the first time in history, and we wanted to bring it to El Paso because of how great of a fight town it proved to be for our event there last month,” said Greg Bloom, CEO of Red Owl Boxing.
The 41-year-old Timko hails from Omaha, Nebraska and will compete in her first-ever eight-round fight after fighting six rounds in each of her last two bouts.
Timko’s opponent, Cardenas is a 27-year-old, forward pressure-style fighter out of Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico.
Cardenas, who is ranked number 14 in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), stepped onto the big stage for the first time in her career on August 15, 2025 in a World Boxing Organization (WBO) world super flyweight title bout, pushing defending champion Mizuki Hiruta, the 2025 Ring Magazine “Fighter of the Year” award winner, the 10-round distance of their fight.
The 30-year-old Brown of Morgan City, La. will see action in the Red Owl Boxing ring for the second time this year, after earning a unanimous decision win over Yohan “La Fiera” Vasquez on May 29.
Trained by former heavyweight contender, Dominick Guinn, Brown brings a sharp-shooter jab and credible knockout power to the squared circle.
Standing opposite Brown will be 34-year-old Padilla, a native of Petare, Venezuela and a dangerous puncher.
Padilla is coming off a unanimous decision win over Manuel Correa on May 16.
Additional fights for the “Red Owl Boxing Presents Boxfest XXI” event will be announced soon.
