Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today announced that boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs) will now face Boxlab Promotions’undefeated 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’s rules with three-minute rounds, following an atypical finding in Erika Cruz’s Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing conducted prior to the event. Tickets for Serrano vs. Tellez are on sale now at prticket.com.
“Due to the atypical finding in Erika Cruz’s 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,” said Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. “We 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.”
Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano is the first-ever Puerto Rican undisputed world champion and the most decorated fighter in women’s 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’ first signee, who also signed the first ever lifetime combat sports contract with MVP and will become Chairwoman of MVP’s women’s boxing initiatives to lead the company’s efforts in identifying, signing, developing and marketing the promotion’s 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’s fight to headline Madison Square Garden, earning global acclaim and winning Sports Illustrated’s Fight of the Year and The Ring’s Event of the Year for 2022. Taylor vs. Serrano was also nominated for Sports Business Journal’s 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’s unified world championship contested over 12 three-minute rounds—equal to a men’s 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’s and Boxing Scene’s 2023 Women’s 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.
Serrano went on to face Katie Taylor in the most anticipated women’s boxing rematch in modern history in the co-main event of MVP’s 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’s 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’s 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’s event at Madison Square Garden, commanding the world’s 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’s top 126lb stars.
“I’m disappointed the original fight couldn’t move forward, but my priority has always been respect for the sport,” said Amanda Serrano. “Reina Tellez is a tough opponent who’s 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’s 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.”
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–the lone technical draw on her record–she 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.
“This is the moment I’ve been fighting for my whole life. To step into the ring with a champion like Amanda Serrano, someone I’ve looked up to, is an honor, but I’m not here just to share the spotlight,” said Reina Tellez. “I’m here to win. I represent San Antonio, I represent every fighter chasing a dream, and I’m coming with everything I’ve got. On fight night, the world’s going to see just how hungry I am to make history.”
Serrano vs. Tellez will feature 12 additional bouts. In the co-main event, MVP’s 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’s Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” 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’s 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’s young Puerto Rican sensation Krystal Rosado (7-1, 2 KOs) vs. Canada’s Tania Walters (7-3, 2 KOs) in a 6-round bantamweight bout contested under equal rules to men with three-minute rounds, MVP’s Puerto Rican Olympian and WBA #1 and WBC #6 contender Yankiel “El Doctorcito” Rivera (7-0-1, 3 KOs) vs. former WBO world champion Jonathan “Bomba” González (28-4-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round flyweight showdown at 112 lbs; MVP’s featherweight contender Jan Paul Rivera (13-0, 7 KOs) vs. San Juan’s Alfredo “El Salsero” Cruz (10-3-1, 5 KOs) in an 8-round bout at 126 lbs; undefeated super featherweight Henry “Moncho” Lebron (20-0, 10 KOs) vs. Juan “Johnny Blaze” Tapia (14-4, 5 KOs) in an 8-round contest at 130 lbs; Aguada’s rising talent Chris “The Punisher” Echevarria (9-1, 4 KOs) vs. Gabriel Bernardi (7-3, 5 KOs) in a 6-round super bantamweight bout at 122 lbs; Naranjito’s Abner Figueroa (7-0, 1 KO) vs. Juana Diaz’s Edwin Rodriguez (12-9-3, 5 KOs) in a 6-round bantamweight bout at 118lbs; Caguas’s Yandiel Lozano (2-0) vs. Sabana Grande’s Johniel Ramos Cotto (3-2, 1 KO) in a 6-round super featherweight bout at 130lbs; Bayamon’s Caleb Tirado vs. Justin Hill in a four round bantamweight bout as both fighters make their professional debut; MVP’s Alex “Chop Chop” Chaparro (6-0, 6 KOs) vs. Augusto Leal (3-0, 1 KO) in a 6-round middleweight bout at 160lbs; and MVP’s Raquel Miller (13-0, 6 KOs) making her MVP promotional debut.
