NEW YORK, NY – August 20, 2024 – MVP today announced that 18-year-old boxing prodigy and actor Javon “Wanna” Walton (1-0-1, 1 KO) will be facing professional boxer Erik Hanley (1-1, 1 KO) over 4 rounds at super featherweight in the co-main event of MVP’s Most Valuable Prospects 8. The event will take place on Friday, September 6 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL, available globally as part of the DAZN subscription package with Boxlab Promotions serving as the official licensed promoter. The main card of Most Valuable Prospects 8, presented by CELSIUS Live Fit Essential Energy and sponsored by Fansly and Event Ticket Center, will be headlined by a 10-round super lightweight showdown between Boxlab Promotions’ rising Cuban star Kevin Brown (5-0, 3 KOs) and seasoned Puerto Rican contender John Bauza (18-1, 8 KOs) for the WBA Super Lightweight Continental Americas title. Joining the main card will be 26-year-old Dominican talent Hendri “La Bazuca” Cedeno (13-0, 10 KOs) vs. Enriko “Gudan” Gogokhia (13-1-2, 8 KOs) in an 8 round super lightweight fight. The 26-year-old rising Cuban standout Yoelvis “La Joya” Gomez (7-1, 6 KOs) will also compete in an 8 round middleweight fight on the main card. Tickets for Most Valuable Prospects 8 are available now at Ticketmaster.com.

Javon “Wanna” Walton (1-0-1, 1 KO) aims for his second professional win on Friday, September 6. Walton signed with MVP in July 2023 and fought to a split draw in his global debut in MVP’s marquee event in March 2024. As the youngest-ever athlete to sign with Nike’s Jordan Brand, Walton has continued to excel as a boxer. Walton began boxing at the age of four, and at age eight became one of America’s youngest amateur prospects. His skill and hard work earned him the title of multi-time Junior Regional Champion and two-time Junior Olympic national silver medalist. The Atlanta native is also a world-renowned actor who captured international attention with his debut role as the beloved drug dealer “Ashtray” in the HBO Max Emmy-winning series Euphoria starring alongside Hollywood icons Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, and has since continued to co-star in numerous other film and TV titles. He trains under his father and coach, DJ Walton. Walton will now take on 30-year-old professional boxer Erik Hanley (1-1, 1 KO) in the co-main event of Most Valuable Prospects 8. Hanley, a fierce competitor, comes to the ring from Rancho Cordova, California by way of Oceanside, New York, ready to challenge Walton’s rise to professional stardom. Hanley most recently secured a KO victory in the ring in February 2024. 

In an 8-round super lightweight bout on the main card, 26-year-old talent Hendri “La Bazuca” Cedeno (13-0, 10 KOs) will take on Enriko “Gudan” Gogokhia (13-1-2, 8 KOs). Cedeno, from La Romana, Dominican Republic, turned professional in May 2021, collecting an impressive 13 wins in just under three years before joining Team Combat League’s Philly Smoke in April 2024. Cedeno is promoted by Boxlab Promotions and now returns to the professional ranks to take on a true test in Gogokhia. The seasoned Gogokhia, a Georgian-born Ukrainian, began his career in kickboxing in Europe before moving to the United States and taking up boxing in 2016. He fights out of Woodland Hills, California and will look to end Cedeno’s undefeated run at Most Valuable Prospects 8.

Also on the main card will be the 26-year-old rising Cuban standout Yoelvis “La Joya” Gomez (7-1, 6 KOs), who will compete in an 8 round middleweight fight against a to-be-announced opponent. Gomez comes to the ring from Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Havana, Cuba following a strong start to his professional career since his professional debut in 2019. A hopeful future title contender, Gomez will seek to demonstrate his knockout power in the ring on Friday, September 6. He is promoted by Boxlab Promotions and Warriors Boxing.

On the preliminary card, top-10 WBA ranked Bree “Bam Bam” Howling (7-0, 2 KOs) will face Hungary’s Beata Dudek (4-3, 4 KOs) in an 8-round bantamweight bout. The 26-year-old Howling comes to the ring from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Following her professional debut in September 2019, Howling has worked up an impressive undefeated 7-0 record, advancing to #8 on the WBA’s world rankings of top female bantamweight talents. Howling is promoted by Boxlab Promotions and Kings Promotions and now aims to continue her undefeated streak on Friday, September 6. She will take on Beata Dudek, the 31-year-old from Miskolc, Hungary by way of Nové Zámky, Slovakia. Dudek steps into the ring on Friday, September 6 ready to leverage her taller 5’7” stature and knockout power against the smaller 5’4” Howling. 

In a 6 round lightweight bout on the preliminary card, 24-year-old Harley “Dennis the Menace” Mederos (6-0, 5 KOs) will take on Russia’s Nikolai Buzolin (9-9-1, 5 KOs). The young talent Mederos comes to the ring from Brooklyn, NY ready to prove he has what it takes to become a title contender. Buzolin, coming to the ring from Brooklyn, NY by way of Tyumen, Russia, will aim to ruin Mederos’s undefeated streak, leveraging his additional professional experience against the younger Mederos. 

Returning to the Most Valuable Prospects series will be local talent Antraveous Ingram (7-0, 2 KOs), who will take on Cruse “Hitman” Stewart (8-3, 6 KOs) over 6 rounds at junior middleweight on the preliminary card. Ingram, the 25-year-old from Kissimmee, Florida, most recently took home a unanimous decision victory over Luis Solis on Most Valuable Prospects 6 in May 2024. His opponent, Stewart, comes to the ring from Maple Grove, Minnesota by way of Rock Island, Illinois. Stewart will make his Most Valuable Prospects debut as he looks to leverage his power and experience to earn his ninth professional win. 

“Most Valuable Prospects 8 on Friday, September 6 marks the highly anticipated return of Wanna Walton” said Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of MVP. “Wanna will be testing himself against a strong fighter in Erik Hanley in the co-main event as he continues to prove his standout star potential and looks to collect his second professional win. We’re proud to feature an incredible women’s fight between Canadian top-ranked WBA contender Bree Howling vs. a relentless athlete in Beata Dudek. As we continue to develop this series and identify the next big names in boxing, we’re excited to welcome back multiple promising talents to the series, including Kevin Hayler Brown in our main event and Antraveous Ingram on our preliminary card. We appreciate Boxlab Promotions, DAZN and CELSIUS for their continued commitment to bringing this incredible night of boxing to Orlando.”

“Caribe Royale is once again excited to be working with MVP to bring this exciting event to Central Florida,” said Amaury Piedra, Managing Director of Caribe Royale Resort and President of Boxlab Promotions. “From top to bottom, this is a stacked card culminating with the WBA title bout featuring a Cuba vs. Puerto Rico battle. In addition, there are great bouts ranging from female prospects to future stars like Yoelvis Gomez, Wanna Walton, and hot local prospect Antraveous Ingram. Caribe Royale prides itself on bringing world class entertainment to Central Florida both for our guests and locals alike, this is just another step in that direction. It’ll be an action packed evening for local attendees and those watching on DAZN as well!”

The Most Valuable Prospects series is produced and marketed by MVP with Boxlab Promotions serving as the official licensed promoter and is distributed globally by DAZN. The eighth event in the series will continue the commitment from MVP co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian to highlight the world’s best up-and-coming boxing talent. All events within Most Valuable Prospects will take place on Friday nights in 2024. CELSIUS Live Fit Essential Energy, maker of lifestyle energy drink, is the exclusive energy drink sponsor of MVP and the Most Valuable Prospects series. Fansly and Event Ticket Center have also joined on to sponsor the Most Valuable Prospects as well.

For more information, follow on X via @MostVPromotions and @DAZNBoxing or on Instagram via @MostValuablePromotions and @DAZNBoxing.

About MVP

MVP was founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021. With the mission to provide more creative control to fighters, MVP works to identify, grow, and maximize return for its own events and talent partners. One year into its inception, MVP was nominated as one of the prestigious Sports Breakthroughs of the Year in 2022 by Sports Business Journal. MVP have produced Jake Paul’s last five global pay-per-view events, including the recent Paul vs. Diaz match. The promotion company also signed one of the most decorated Hispanic athletes of all time, Amanda Serrano in its first year. Serrano and MVP made history in April of 2022 when Serrano went head to head with Katie Taylor, marking the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden, recently earning a nomination for Event of The Year by Sports Business Journal. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was an executive producer of the historic Triller Presents Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which was the 8th most bought pay-per-view event in history.

About DAZN

DAZN is the home of European football, women’s football, boxing and MMA, and the NFL (excl. USA). We are building the ultimate sports entertainment platform, based on premium sports rights, world-leading tech, and multi-platform distribution. DAZN believes that fans from across the globe should be able to watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app.

For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit?dazngroup.com.

NEW YORK–In a war, Amanda Serrano became the undisputed featherweight champion with a 10-round unanimous decision in front of a capacity crowd at The Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden

The two fighters stood toe to toe with Cruz having early success as she dug her feet in and came forward throwing and landing punches in bunches from all angles. That seemed to befuddle Serrano, who was getting hit cleanly by oncoming shots from Cruz. In round three, Cruz was cut on her forehead from an accidental headbutt. That coincided with Serrano’s foray back inro the fight as she seemed to have a better grasp on how to handle the unorthodox style of Cruz.

In round six, Serrano her Cruz badly with an left and right hook on the inside. There were instances that looked like Cruz was done, but she kept coming forward throwing punches in bunches. Serrano was able to stem the tide and fough through a cut around her right eye in a furious 10th and final round.

The two fighters threw a staggering amount of punches for the 20 minute war as Serrano was 257 of 949. Cruz 202 of 968.

Serrano, 125.4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 98-92 twice and 97-93 and is now 44-2-1. Cruz, 125.4 lbs of Mexico City fought valiantly in defeat and is now 15-2.

With the win, it paves the way for a much anticipated rematch between Serrano and Katie Taylor that was announced for May 20th.

Amanda Serrano

• I’m just so emotional underneath. I finally did it for my island. 
• She’s a Mexican champion and we knew that from the start. I knew it was going to be a bout and this what what I’ve trained for. We didn’t expect anything less than that. 
• I’m glad it went past the fourth!
• Jordan kept screaming 1-2-1-2’s from the corner – go back to the basics. My left hand was catching her pretty clear with the jabs. So I just listen to my corner. 
• I have successfully completed all of my dreams, becoming the undisputed champion. So now I am one of THE undisputed champions but I am still the ONLY 7 weigh class world champions in the world. 
• It’s going to be a bigger and better fight over there (Ireland)

Katie Taylor

• I was cheering her on. I wanted this fight. Undisputed vs. undisputed champion. The last fight was an epic fight and I think the next one is going to be exactly the same. 
• It’s going to be great in Ireland fighting the real deal, Amanda Serrano. This is incredible and the last fight was epic so I expect nothing less from the next one. 
• This is the biggest fight in women’s boxing and I only want to do the biggest fights. This is exactly what I want.

Baumgardner Decisions Mekhaled to Win Undisputed Junior Lightweight Champion

Alycia Baumgardner became to Undisputed Junior Lightweight champion with an emphatic 10-round unanimous decision over Elhem Mekhaled.

In round three, Baumgardner landed a big chopping right that put Mekhaled on the canvas. With Mekhaled hurt, Baumgardner jumped on Mekhaled and sent her to the canvas for a second time in the round from a huge flurry of punches.

Mekhaled was hurt several times down the stretch, but she showed tremendous resolve as she was able to land some flush punches. In the 10th round, both boxers had moments and also there were several furious exchanges.

Baumgardner landed 141 of 542 punches; Mekhaled was 96 of 404.

Baumgardner, 129 lbs of Detroit won by scores of 99-89 twice and 98-90 and is now 14-1. Mekhaled, 129 lbs of Paris, FRA is 15-2.

Hitchins Decisions Bauza

Richardson Hitchins settled his grudge with John Bauza y winning a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision on their junior welterweight bout.

In round one, Hitchins landed a inside left that had Bauza hit the canvas, which was ruled a knockdown. In round four, Hitchins landed a hard straight right that put Bauza down for a clean knockdown. In round five, the right eye of Bauza began to swell up.

With his face a mess and getting beat up, Bauza landed a hard left that briefly stopped Hitchins in his tracks, but Hitchins rebounded to landed three flush shots to face of Bauza.

Hitchins, 139.6 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 100-88 on all cards and is now 16-0. Bauza, 139 lbs of North Bergen, NJ is 17-1.

Yankiel Rivera Decisions Fernando Diaz

Yankiel Rivera remained undefeated by pounding out an eight-round unanimous decision over Fernando Diaz in a flyweight fight.

Rivera, 112.4 lbs of Bayamon, PR won by scores of 79-73 twice and 78-74 and is now 3-0. Diaz, 111.8 lbs of Riverside, CA is 11-3-1.

Skye Nicolson remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Tania Alvarez in a featherweight fight.

Nicolson, 126.6 lbs of Queensland, AUS won by scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 and is now 6-0. Alvarez, 124.8 lbs of Barcelona, SPA is 7-1.

In a battle of previously undefeated super bantamweights, Ramla Ali took a 10-round unanimous decision from Avril Mathie.

Ali, 121.4 lbs of London won by scores of 99-91 on all cards and is now 8-0. Mathie, 121.4 lbs of Sydney, AUS is 8-1-1.

Shadasia Green was impressive in stopping former world champion Elin Cederroos in round six of their scheduled 10[round super middleweight bout.

In round three, Green dropped Cederroos with a perfect overhand right to the jaw.

In round six, Green landed three more booming right hands to the head that had Cederroos wobbling across the ring. Green landed three more flush shots in the corner and the bout was stopped at 1:08.

Green, 167.2 lbs of Paterson, NJ is now 12-0 with 11 knockoouts. Cederroos,167.4 lbs of Sweden is 8-2.

In a bloody battle, Harley Maderos stopped Julio Madera in the sixth and final round of their lightweight bout.

Maderos battered Madera until his face got more swollen with each round. Maderos showed a bloody mouth in round five. In round six, Maderos landed a hard combination that forced referee Eric Dali to the contest at 25 seconds.

Maderos, 134.2 lbs of Brooklyn is now 5-0 with four knockouts. Madera,133.5 lbs of Mexico City is 4-3.

Aaron Aponte remained undefeated with a eight-round unanimous decision over Joshua David Rivera in a junior welterweight clash.

Aponte, 136.8 lbs of Hialeah Gardens, FL won by scores on all cards and is now 7-0-1. Rivera, 138.8 lbs of La Mesa, CA is 8-2.