Women’s Boxing: Matchmaking Magic by Most Valuable Promotions in El Paso, Texas
Fans in El Paso, Texas witnessed one of the best female fight cards ever put together and included four world title fights.
Matchmakers for Most Valuable Promotions did their job last weekend.
I’ve been observing female fight cards for the past 30 years including all-female boxing cards in the early 2000s that were put together by emissaries like Arnie “Tokyo” Rosenthal. He brought fighters like Elena “Baby Doll” Reid, Mia St. John and Jennifer Salinas to the public.
None of the current sanctioning bodies like the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF recognized women’s boxing at the time.
This past Saturday, Amanda Serrano quickly dismissed Germany’s eager Cheyenne Hanson by knockout to tie Christy Martin’s record of 32 career knockouts. It was an incredible feat especially when considering how difficult it has been for women to even get a boxing match before 2016.
Promoters refused to stage female fights on boxing cards. They also stated that nobody wanted to see female fights.
Serrano has 54 pro bouts now. Back during the “Coalminer’s Daughter” era, Martin retired with 59 pro bouts which was incredible. The landscape for women’s pro boxing has opened up and last weekend we saw perhaps the greatest female boxing card of all time to date.
“All these fights were incredible. I think mine was the only KO, so there were very competitive fights,” Serrano said.
Lulu of a Fight
MVP’s matchmakers get an A+ for putting together the light flyweight title fight between Mexico’s Lourdes “Lulu” Juarez and Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle. As soon as I heard about that match, I did a double-take. Both are veterans and multiple-division world titlists with speed, agility and know-how.
Juarez, 39, is the younger sister of the great Mariana “Barby” Juarez who has the record for fighting in front of the largest crowd of all time in Mexico City. Back in April 2017, Barby fought Catherine Phiri for the WBC bantam title in front of more than 400,000 fans at the Zocalo. That is the largest ever amount of fans ever to witness a boxing match.
Lulu Juarez has mostly fought in the shadow of big sister Mariana and still managed to reach the top. Her fighting style is different from Mariana and more defensive-minded and, ever since the Covid-19 era, has done her best work. I’ve known Lulu since she was 13 years old when her sister trained in South El Monte, Calif.
Costa Rica’s Valle, 33, has always been fearless, dazzling and eager to perform against the best for the past 10 years. I first met Valle at my home in September 2017 right after Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fought Gennady “Triple G’ Golovkin the first time. At the time Valle was getting ready to face Japan’s Naoko Fujioka in Tokyo. That was Valle at 24, eager to test her quick-fisted skills against legendary Fujioka who will be officially inducted to Boxing’s Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY later this month.
Lulu Juarez and her impish smile seemed to confuse the opposition as she circled and stabbed jabs in between her opponent’s guard from southpaw and orthodox stances. She has uncanny timing and quickly gained the advantage over Valle. After a few rounds, the speedy Costa Rican fighter changed tactics and the real battle began. It was one of my favorite fights of the night.
Valle used her speed and darting style to attack Mexico’s clever Juarez, but they collided heads repeatedly. Again, Valle emerged with a cut on her forehead caused by lowering her head during attacks. It happened in her previous fight against Yadira Bustillos last December in Miami. That blood fell onto the mat and caused it to be slippery. That further led to a knockdown when her rear leg slipped on the mat and she lost her balance.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Valle the winner, but two others saw Juarez the winner. The knockdown was not a factor in the split-decision win.
“I was doing everything we worked on in the gym. Intelligence and having a big heart, like I always say,” said Juarez.
Little Lulu Juarez is no longer in the shadow of big sister Mariana.
Accuracy Wins
Another favorite fight was the eight-round bout between former champion Yesica Nery Plata and Brook Sibrian at light flyweight.
Mexico’s Nery Plata lost her title to Juarez last October and is eager to get another shot. Southern California’s Sibrian is a hot shot fighter at 33 who has no time to waste and showed it against the former champion. She came in guns blazing.
For two rounds it looked like Sibrian was going to run over Nery Plata, but as soon as the Mexican figured out the Californian’s style, it became a sharp-shooting competition. Nery Plata is deadly accurate.
Sibrian was never shy about unloading left and right bombs while Nery Plata was precise with her power shots. They lit up the arena with their ferocious punches. Neither was able to severely hurt the other, but their intensity was eye-catching. Nery Plata was rewarded for her accuracy by unanimous decision.
Aussie Power
The middleweight fight between Desley Robinson and Mary Spencer was interesting in that both are powerful and there were moments that reflected why they are highly rated as middleweights. Though neither have the speed, both have power in their punches. After 10 rounds, Australia’s Robinson showed why she has two titles with a more daring approach. She has a pretty good chin and very good power. But she still has growing to do skill-wise. However, you can’t teach that willingness to close the show with a flourish.
Rematch
The rematch between Stephanie Han and Holly Holm was exactly what I expected. Holm is a tremendous athlete but her boxing skills have always been lacking. She dives in with her head and swings or punches. That leads to head clashes and once again it opened a cut on Han. She has an awkward way of connecting with lead lefts while diving to her right. She scored repeatedly with that punch but it’s only one punch. Meanwhile Han scored with combinations. That was the difference in the fight.
After the fights, Caroline DuBois challenged Han. Challenging other fighters at press conferences seems to be the popular thing. I would rather see DuBois fight Alycia Baumgardner but that is up to the MVP matchmakers who did a great job in El Paso.
More Fight News
Argentina
Carolina Ferrari (6-7-3) defeated Maira Loyola (0-7-1) by majority decision fter six rounds on Saturday May 30. The flyweight fight took place in Buenos Aires.
Carolina Diaz (2-0) beat Brisa Aguirre (0-4) by decision after six rounds on Saturday May 30. The minimumweight fight took place in San Miguel de Tucaman.
On Friday June 5, minimumweights Maria Sol Baumstarh (14-7-1) and Yadira Bustillos (11-2) meet 10 rounds for interim IBF title at Buenos Aires. Also, flyweights Gabriela Alaniz (19-2) and Lizeth Romero (6-1-1) meet 10 rounds for regional title.
Australia
Charlotte Johnson (2-0) won by unanimous decision after six rounds versus Sarah Linton (2-8) on Saturday May 30. The Australian flyweight title fight took place in Gatton.
On Saturday June 6, Deanhu Hobbs (12-3-1) and Manjot Rattu (8-4) meet six rounds at Hamilton.
Austria
Alexandra Petre (3-1) knocked out Elene Sikmashvili (9-13-1) in the first round on Saturday May 30. The light heavyweight fight took place in Vienna. Also, cruiserweight Melissa Sailer (3-1) knocked out Dorina Sandor (1-2) in one round.
Belgium
Femke Hermans (19-5) defeated Arlene Blencowe (5-7-1) by unanimous decision after 10 rounds on Saturday May 30. The regional super welterweight title fight took place in Charleroi.
Selin Babacan (1-0) defeated Nevena Markovic (0-16-1) by decision after four rounds on Friday May 29. The match took place in Izegem.
Canada
On Saturday June 6, heavyweights Anne Mazerolle (8-3-1) and Maira Hernandez (6-5-1) meet six rounds at Richibucto.
Colombia
On Sunday June 7, lightweights Kassandra Acosta (1-0) and Valery Cabrera (0-4) meet six rounds at Florida.
Congo
On Sunday June 7, bantams Rosette Kapinga (0-0) and Jesca Nakiridde (0-0-1) meet six rounds at Kaye.
Czech Republic
Lucie Pudilova (4-0) beat Jana Duchonova (1-3) by majority decision after six rounds on Sunday May 31. The welter fight took place in Usti nad Labem.
On Saturday June 6, welters Johana Rajmont (6-9-1) and Alessandra Stamidu (0-0) meet six rounds at Prague.
Denmark
Anne Munk (3-0) defeated Tijana Draskovic (2-17) by unanimous decision after four rounds on Saturday May 30. The bantam fight took place in Copenhagen.
France
Emilie Sonvico (9-0) defeated Mahjouba Oubtil (7-6-2) by unanimous decision after 10 rounds on Saturday May 30. The welterweight fight took place in Uzes.
Lilia Cherifi (6-1) won by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Ashley Rabereau (0-2-1) on Saturday May 30. The lightweight fight was held in Paris.
Anne Micard (1-5-1) beat Jelena Bokan (1-7) by knockout in the fourth on Saturday May 30. The super bantam fight was held in Argentan.
Lucie Pauliac (3-0) beat Ingrid Brodu (3-4) after six rounds on Friday May 29. The featherweight fight took place in Landes.
On Saturday June 6, flyweights Hadria Bader (1-2-1) and Anna Boullez (1-0) meet six rounds at Portet sur Garonne.
On Saturday June 6, lightweights Margaux Revois (2-0) and Dajana Rakovic (2-9( meet six rounds at Saint Malo.
On Saturday June 6, super flies Maloway Caniers (1-2) and Agathe Cailleau (1-0) meet six rounds at Angers.
On Saturday June 6, super bantam Sarah Kaddour (1-1-1) and Fannu Croset (0-0) meet six rounds at Paris.
Greece
On Saturday June 6, lightweights Olga Papadatou (0-0) and Aurelie Trailin (0-0) meet four rounds at Chania.
Ireland
Kelsey Leonard (6-0) knocked out Klaudia Ferenczi (20-130-11) in the third round on Saturday May 30. The featherweight fight took place in Dublin. Also, lightweight Zara Breslin (1-0) knocked out Joanna Fraszarak (1-8) in five; and Sarah Murphy (4-0) beat Eva Cantos (9-28-1) after four.
Italy
Martina Righi (8-3-1) won by split decision after 10 rounds versus Almudena Alvarez (7-5) on Saturday May 30. The EBU super feather title fight took place in Arenzano.
On Saturday June 6, lightweights Biancamaria Tessari (4-0) and Jelena Janicijevic (6-2-1) meet 10 rounds at Bologna.
South Korea
Eun Ji Kim (1-0) defeated Ji in Kim (0-1-1) by decision after four rounds on Saturday May 30. The flyweight fight took place in Incheon.
Spain
Christina Desmond (5-0) knocked out Sherie Barnes (0-16) in the second round on Saturday May 30. The welter fight took place in Calpe.
On Saturday June 6, super lights Helene Connart (5-1) and Clara Lopez (3-2) meet 10 rounds for EBU title at Villarreal.
Sweden
Aitana Alvarez (1-0) knocked out Eliana Medina (1-4-1) in the third round on Saturday May 30. The super lightweight fight took place in Hasselby.
United Arab Emirates
On Saturday June 6, super middles Rachel Lally (3-0-1) and Amina Mohammed (3-4) meet six rounds at Dubai.
United Kingdom
Francesca Hennessey (9-0) knocked out Aurora De Persio (8-2) in the six round on Saturday May 30. The regional bantamweight title fight was held in Wembley.
Chelsey Arnell (6-3-1) defeated Kira Carter (0-31-1) by decision after four rounds on Saturday May 30. The super featherweight fight took place in Hull.
Jordan Barker Porter (10-4-1) beat Bojana Libiszewska (7-77) after six rounds on Saturday May 30. The welterweight fight took place in Yorkshire. Also, lightweight Charan Dhesi (3-0) beat Angelika Oles (4-17) in four.
USA
Carson Crawford (3-1) defeated Kelisa Davis (1-1) by split decision after four rounds on Saturday May 30. The lightweight fight was held in Los Angeles.
Lourdes Juarez (40-4) defeated Yokasta Valle (34-4) by split decision after 10 rounds on Saturday May 30. The WBC light fly title fight was held in El Paso, Texas. Also, WBA lightweight titlist Steohanie Han (13-0) beat Holly Holm (34-4-3) by majority decision after 10; IBF and WBO middleweight titlist Desley Robinson (12-3) beat Mary Spencer (10-4) after 10; WBO featherweight titlist Amanda Serrano (49-4-1) knocked out Cheyenne Hanson (17-3) in two; light fly Yesica Nery Plata (31-3) beat Brook Sibrian (9-3) after eight; super feather Miranda Reyes (9-3-1) beat Camillla Panatta (8-4-1) in eight; feather Elise Soto (11-0) beat Thalia Limon (4-2) after four; and super bantam Nazarena Romero (15-1-2) beat Maria Salinas (27-15-6) after eight.
On Tuesday June 2, featherweights Chiara Dituri (13-2) and Celene Roman (7-4-1) meet eight rounds at Nashville. Tenn.
(Photo by Cooper Neill/MVP)
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