An all-Mexico title fight will anchor Most Valuable Promotions’ (MVP) return to Texas.
BoxingScene has confirmed that reigning WBC 108lbs titlist Lourdes Juárez will risk her crown against former unified champ Yesica Nery Plata. Their scheduled ten-round title fight will headline Most Valuable Prospect 16 on an October 18 DAZN show from South Padre Island Convention Center in South Padre Island, Texas.
The bout will mark the MVP debut for Mexico City’s Nery Plata, 30-2 (3 KOs), who became the company’s first Mexican signee earlier this summer. It also serves as her triumphant return following a near two-year ring absence which resulted in the end of her WBA/WBC 108lbs title reign after a brilliant 2023 campaign.
“I’m excited to officially announce my next fight… for the WBC 108lb world title, a championship I proudly held before.,” Nery Plata said in quotes provided to BoxingScene. “This time, I’ll be facing the current world champion, Lourdes Juárez. I’m truly grateful to be part of MVP and want to thank Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano, and Nakisa [Biadrian] for giving me this incredible opportunity.
“I’m proud to be the first Mexican female boxer to join this company, which is making real, lasting changes in women’s boxing. I can’t wait to share this journey with all of you."
Nery Plata was forced to sit out all of 2024 before she was cleared to fight earlier this year. Prior to that, she was one fight away from undisputed championship status after title wins over Yesica Bopp and Kim Clavel in a span of just ten months.
She was forced to vacate her titles last fall after she was unable to compete but is now prepared to reclaim her place among the sport’s elite.
She will have to go through boxing royalty to achieve that goal.
Juarez, 38-4 (5 KOs) became a two-division titlist after she claimed the vacant WBC 108lbs title with a ten-round, unanimous decision win over Yesenia Gomez last November 29 in Chetumal, Mexico. Her lone defense came in a ninth-round stoppage of Mirna Sanchez on March 7 in Tequisquiapan.
The bout will mark the U.S. debut for the 38-year-old Juarez, also from Mexico City and whose older sister is the legendary Mariana Juarez, a former two-division champ.
“I’m the world champion, and no one is taking what’s mine,” vowed Juarez. “I’m determined to go to all-out war on Saturday, October 18—a truly Mexican war.”
The matchup is one of four confirmed women’s bouts on the show. The second title fight of the night pits Australia’s Desley Robinson, 10-3 (3 KOs) in defense of her IBF and WBO 160lbs belts against South Carolina’s Logan Holler, 11-3-1 (4 KOs).
“I am so excited for this opportunity,” said Robinson, who makes her U.S. debut. “I know this is the biggest fight of Holler’s career and she wants what I have, but there is no way she is taking it. I will arrive on South Padre Island as the champion and I’ll be leaving as the champion.”
Her American challenger obviously has a different outcome in mind.
“This is what I’ve been working for my whole career for over ten years now,” insisted Holler. “I’m so grateful that God has blessed me with the love of boxing and the faith to trust the process. Now it’s time to fight for the championship and put all the hard-work together.
“I’m also very grateful to MVP for the opportunity and the support that they have been giving to women’s boxing. This is going to be a great fight!”
On the preliminary undercard, the Amanda Serrano-managed Krystal Rosado takes a significant step up in class versus former bantamweight titlist Shurretta Metcalf. Their scheduled eight-round bantamweight fight will be contested over three-minute rounds, a constant in the career of Rosado and in general for MVP, far and away the industry leader for women in boxing.
Also in preliminary action is Mexico’s Yolanda Vega, 10-1 (1 KO), who aims to rebound from her ten-round defeat to the legendary Holly Holm on the June 28 Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr undercard. Vega, a lightweight from Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, will face an opponent to be determined.
MVP prospects Alexis “Chop Chop” Chaparro, 5-0 (5 KOs), and Alexander Gueche 9-0 (6 KOs), appear in separate bouts, as well as Panama’s Pedro Veitia, 5-0 (5 KOs) and Brownsville’s Sebastian Juarez, 9-0 (7 KOs).
Another Brownsville resident will appear in the evening’s chief support. Boxing good guy Omar Juarez – a pillar of his community, particularly in his support of the local schools and gyms – will take on Puerto Rico’s Omar Rosario in a ten-round, junior welterweight contest.
“Fighting on South Padre Island is special to me—it’s my home, my people, my heart,” noted Juarez. “On Saturday, October 18th, the whole world gets to see what I’ve been building toward, live on DAZN.
“Omar Rosario is a tough, talented fighter, but I’ve worked too hard and sacrificed too much to let this moment slip away. Every round, every punch, I’ll be representing Texas, and I promise the fans an unforgettable performance.”
The event marks MVP’s triumphant return to the Lone Star State. The previous trip resulted in the most watched boxing event in nearly 50 years last November 15 on Netflix. Headlining that show was company co-founder Jake Paul, who outpointed former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium, home to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
Paul also fought in Dallas in 2023, when he defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision. This upcoming show will mark MVP’s first in Texas without Paul on the bill, but rather ringside in support of his talented roster.
“They say everything is bigger in Texas,” noted Paul and business partner Nakisa Bidarian in a joint statement. “Well, this will be our biggest Most Valuable Prospects card yet—a championship double header showcasing the next wave of talent and advancing our commitment to equality in boxing. Fans will see an all-Mexican world title clash between Lourdes Juarez and Yesica Nery Plata, the return of Australia’s unified champion Desley Robinson, and and local brothers and rising stars Omar and Sebastian Juarez, while Shurretta Metcalf joins Krystal Rosado in making a statement for women’s equality by fighting three-minute rounds.
“This event underscores MVP’s continued investment in building the future of the sport through world-class matchups and opportunities for emerging fighters. Fans in South Padre Island and around the globe are in for something special on Saturday, October 18, live on DAZN.”
