Boxing
Boxing champions Brown, Jones among six women who signed MVP contract
Published
1 month agoon
Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotions continue to invest in women’s boxing with the signing of six additional women’s boxers to the organization’s roster, including WBC featherweight champion Tiara Brown and IBF junior middleweight champion Oshae Jones, ESPN learned on Thursday.
Brown (20-0, 11 KO) and Jones (9-0, 3 KO) lead the latest wave of MVP signings. Junior bantamweight LeAnne Cruz (11-0, 1 KO), junior lightweight Elise Soto (10-0, 9 KO), Miranda Reyes (8-3-1, 3 KO) and Brazilian Jully Poca have also joined the promotion.
“Tiara, Oshae, Jully, LeAnna, Elise and Miranda represent a foundational pillar of our brand of MVPs, world champions, Olympic pedigree, global stars, top athletes and elite athletes with superstar potential. We are thrilled to have them among our growing roster of athletes,” Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, said in a statement. “MVP is elevating women’s boxing beyond divisions and boundaries, and we look forward to each of our fresh signees making their promotional debuts soon. Our mission is to provide fans with the one brand that has the best fighters in the world, and today we further strengthen that position.”
Brown, of Philadelphia, won the WBC title by defeating Skye Nicolson in March 2025 and successfully defended the title against Emma Gongora in September 2025. Brown is ranked No. 2 in the ESPN featherweight rankings, behind Amanda Serrano.
“Signing with Most Valuable Promotions is an significant moment in my career,” Brown said. “From my amateur foundations to becoming world champion, every step prepared me for this level. I earned it all through discipline and consistency. Now I can showcase my experience and masterful mindset on a global stage with MVP.”
Jones won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics in the welterweight division and became world champion in her eighth fight, defeating Femke Hermans by split decision in November 2024.
“From winning an Olympic medal to becoming a two-lane world champion, every step of the way prepared me for this,” Jones said. “With MVP under my belt, I’m ready to compete on the biggest stages and continue to build my legacy.”
Perhaps the most intriguing addition is influencer Jully Poca. She has not yet made her professional boxing debut, but she is undefeated in exhibition fights, most recently in Misfits Boxing. The fitness instructor-turned-boxer has more than 3 million followers on Instagram and became a social media sensation when a video of her beating up an Uber driver who was assaulting two women in Sao Paulo, Brazil, went viral in 2019.
“I chose MVP because they not only put women at the forefront, but they also lead the way in putting us in the spotlight,” Poca said. “Seeing how they handled Amanda Serrano, Alycia Baumgardner and others shows me their incredible commitment to ensuring that female fighters are valued as we should be. While I am very grateful to everyone who has supported my journey so far, joining MVP gives me a platform to represent my country on the world stage and helps take Brazilian boxing to a whole fresh level.”
With the promotional debuts of all six women on the horizon, Most Valuable Promotions aims to continue building women’s boxing with an incredibly deep roster of talent.
“My passion for boxing begins when I step into the ring, but is equally focused on what I will bring to the sport outside the ring as MVP,” added Jake Paul in the MVP statement. “Today’s signings reflect my continued commitment to using my platform to promote boxing to the largest global audience possible.”
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Canelo Alvarez talked about how long he could stay in the sport before hanging up his gloves and opting for a decorated career.
The 35-year-old is already destined for a place in the Hall of Fame, as he became a four-division world champion, but he still wants to compete at the highest level.
Since his professional debut in 2005, the Mexican has made 68 appearances and has twice become the undisputed king of the 168-pound division, scoring notable victories over the likes of Callum Smith and Caleb Plant.
However, his most critical victory came in the middleweight division, where Alvarez made a very controversial decision by majority vote in a rematch with Gennady Golovkin in 2018.
More controversial was their first meeting a year earlier, when many felt Golovkin had done enough to claim a convincing victory and the Kazakhstan ended in a draw.
Still, Canelo received plenty of credit for his follow-up triumph before dethroning Sergei Kovalev to capture the WBO featherlight heavyweight title over a year later.
Alvarez’s second undisputed super middleweight reign came to an end last September when Terence Crawford moved up two weight classes and won a unanimous decision.
But Canelo explained anyway Froch About the fight that he can still compete for another two years, maybe even longer, depending on how often his opportunities come along.
“I don’t know. I think maybe two years. I don’t need it, [but] I still enjoy it. If I [fight] maybe once a year [I can go on] a little bit [longer].
“Once a year to rest my body, I think I can fight more [than two years]”
Although an official announcement has not yet been made, Canelo is scheduled to fight in Riyad, Saudi Arabia this September, and Turki Alalshikh has promised to fight for the world title.
Boxing
The Inoue-Nakatani title fight will take place on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome
Published
3 hours agoon
March 7, 2026
Boxing’s worst kept secret has now been confirmed – Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KO) and Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KO) will meet on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship.
The all-Japan clash was formally announced at a press conference in Japan. The fight will be broadcast live on Lemino pay-per-view; US distribution rights have not yet been announced.
Inoue – ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer – is coming off an impressive 2025 in which he competed four times, defeating Kim Ye-Joon, Ramon Cardenas, Murodjon Akhmadaliev and David Picasso. Thanks to Inoue’s unanimous decision victory over Picasso in December, Nakatani defeated Sebastian Hernandez in the second fight of the night in a tougher-than-expected fight. Their victories set up a long-awaited clash between two of Japan’s best players.
Nakatani is ranked No. 6 pound-for-pound by ESPN and will look to become a four-division champion after winning world titles at bantamweight, junior bantamweight and flyweight. Although Nakatani narrowly won his junior featherweight debut in a grueling fight against Hernandez, Nakatani proved he was one of the best fighters in the world and had a powerful showing in 2025, winning 3-0.
The Undercard will feature Inoue’s younger brother Takuma defending his WBC bantamweight title against former four-division titleholder Kazuto Ioka.
Boxing
Dan Rafael says IBF president opposed Jai Opetaia Presser
Published
5 hours agoon
March 7, 2026
Jai Opetai’s fight against Brandon Glanton is still moving forward, but veteran reporter Dan Rafael says the issue that caused the IBF title to be removed from the fight had to do with how the belt was presented during fight week. Rafael reported that IBF president Daryl Peoples believes that the organization’s title was shown as secondary to Zuffa’s belt during a recent press conference.
This explanation makes the argument about the presentation rather than the match itself. Rafael wrote that Peoples objected to the way the belts were arranged at the press, with Zuffa’s belt posed for the cameras while Opetaia held the IBF title rather than raising it in the usual manner towards the audience.
“The IBF withdrew sanctions and sent the overseer home after the journalist because IBF President Daryl Peoples felt disrespected by the belt being placed secondary to Zuffa’s,” Rafael wrote on social media.
Fight week photos reflect the arrangement Rafael described. At the final press conference on Friday, Zuffa’s belt was centered and Opetaia held the red IBF title at his side. Saturday’s weigh-in had a similar effect. Zuffa’s belt was raised over the fighters on the restart, while Opetaia continued to hold the IBF Championship on his chest. This sequence appears to have irritated the sanctioning authority.
Rafael also reported another unusual detail related to the fight. Even after the IBF dropped its sanctions, Opetai and Glanton were still expected to adhere to IBF weight rules ahead of the morning fight. Rafael said that no competitor can weigh more than ten pounds over the cruiserweight weight limit of 200.
Rafael later noticed that the IBF belt continued to appear in promotion for the event. Opetaia held the title at media events and discussed it publicly, and graphics broadcast by Zuffa covered the championship. Rafael’s account points to the dispute that raged over Zuffa’s title belt relationship during press events.
Opetaia entered fight week as the IBF cruiserweight champion after regaining the belt in a rematch victory over Mairis Briedis in 2024. The Australian continues to wear the physical belt while promoting his fight against Glanton. Once he steps into the ring and takes part in an unsanctioned fight, the IBF Championship will no longer move forward with him.
The fight remains scheduled, and reports from Rafael indicate that the split was due to belt politics and presentations at public events. The episode shows how rigorously sanctioning bodies guard the status of their championships as modern promoters introduce competitive titles.
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Last update: 2026/03/07 at 15:51
Canelo Alvarez discusses his retirement plan
The Inoue-Nakatani title fight will take place on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome
Dan Rafael says IBF president opposed Jai Opetaia Presser
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