Most Valuable Promotions is launching MVPW, a new global platform for women’s boxing, and announced a multiyear deal with ESPN that will start April 5 with three events featuring Alycia Baumgardner, Caroline Dubois, Ellie Scotney, Shadasia Green and Holly Holm competing in separate fights.
The inaugural event, MVPW-01, will be MVP’s previously announced U.K. debut that will be headlined by WBC lightweight champion Dubois (12-0-1, 5 KOs) meeting WBO titleholder Terri Harper (16-2-2, 6 KOs) in a 10-round unification bout at Olympia Events in London. Also featured will be unified women’s junior featherweight champion Scotney (11-0) facing WBA champion Mayelli Flores (13-1-1, 4 KOs) to determine an undisputed champion in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds while Chantelle Cameron (21-1, 8 KOs) will move up two divisions to face Michaela Kotaskova (11-0-4, 2 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight fight for the vacant WBO title.
MVPW-02 will take place April 17 at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City with unified junior lightweight champion Baumgardner (17-1, 7 KOs) defending her titles against South Korea’s Bo Mi Re Shin (19-3-3, 10 KOs) in the main event that will be contested under men’s rules with 12 3-minute rounds. Green (16-1, 11 KOs) will put her unified super middleweight titles on the line against former light heavyweight champion Lani Daniels (11-4-2, 1 KO) in the co-feature bout.
“New York sets the tone for boxing’s biggest nights. Becoming undisputed there was monumental, and the fans have embraced me from the beginning,” Baumgardner said in a statement. “Every fight for me is about elevation; I’m here to dominate and continue building something that lasts beyond belts. ESPN is where greatness is documented, and I’m ready to perform at that level. This fight is also a special crossover: Two Korean fighters on this kind of stage is something fans don’t see often, and I’m proud to represent every part of who I am.”
Holm (34-3-3, 9 KOs) and Stephanie Han (12-0, 3 KOs) will meet in a rematch for Han’s WBA lightweight title May 30 at MVPW-03 in the champion’s backyard of El Paso, Texas. Han defeated Holm by technical decision after an accidental clash of heads ended their first meeting in the seventh round.
“This time in my city, there will be no excuses, no ‘what ifs,’ and no doubt who the better fighter is,” Han said. “I can’t wait to showcase my abilities to millions of fans on ESPN.”
ESPN will serve as the U.S. home for MVPW through 2028. The promotion’s stable of fighters also includes unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, undisputed bantamweight champion Cherneka Johnson, WBC featherweight champion Tiara Brown, IBF junior middleweight champion Oshae Jones, Ebanie Bridges and Tamm Thibeault.
“Since inception MVP has strategically focused on creating an umbrella brand as the global home for women’s boxing, with the best fighters in the world, that engages existing boxing fans and attracts untapped fan demographics that embrace women’s sport, and today, we proudly enter a new era,” said Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. “Over the past five years, we have invested heavily in female athletes, delivered historic and record-breaking events, and proven that these athletes belong on the biggest stages in the sport.”
