The full undercard and broadcast team is set for the year-end installment of the Most Valuable Promotions’ MVProspects series.
Promising junior middleweight prospect Yoenis Tellez and series regular Lorenzo Medina appear in separate bouts as part of the December 15 DAZN show topped by the Jake Paul-Andre August cruiserweight fight from Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Cuba’s Tellez (6-0, 5KOs)—who now lives and trains in Stafford, Texas—will meet countryman and Miami-based Livan Navarro (15-1, 9KOs) in a scheduled ten-round regional junior middleweight title fight. Opening the four-fight telecast, Medina (8-0, 7KOs)—a popular 19-year-old heavyweight from the greater Miami area—aims to go a perfect 3-0 on the CELSIUS®-sponsored series versus Joshua Temple (12-2, 10KOs) in a scheduled six-round heavyweight clash.
As previously reported by BoxingScene.com, Shadasia Green (13-0, 12KOs) and former undisputed super middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn (8-2, 2KOs; 1NC) meet for the vacant WBC 168-pound title in the chief support.
“We built the Most Valuable Prospects series on the foundation of giving young and upcoming talent a platform to display their skills and build their names on our stage. As we close out this year’s Most Valuable Prospects series on Friday, December 15th, we are proud to welcome back Lorenzo Medina, who alongside Yoenis Tellez, Livan Navarro, and Joshua Temple personify the skill and energy Most Valuable Prospects represents,” MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian told BoxingScene.com in a provided statement. “With Shadasia Green battling for the WBC super middleweight championship and Jake continuing on his journey to being world champion, this is not only a card every boxing fan can enjoy, but is exactly what we envisioned when we launched this series.
“Thank you to DAZN, Caribe Royale Resort, BoxLab, and CELSIUS for this incredible year of partnership. We look forward to unveiling our next six installments in 2024 showcasing more of the young, rising athletes around the world.”
MVP also revealed the full broadcast team for the show. Joining series regulars Wade Plemons and Dan Cannobio is renowned combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani and DAZN’s Todd Grisham.
Medina will enter his fifth fight of a productive 2023 campaign, all in the Central Florida region. His upcoming clash versus Temple will mark his third straight at Caribe Royale. He went the distance in a six-round decision win over Angel Napoles on the inaugural MVProspects show in May.
In his most recent start, Medina knocked out unbeaten Antonio Torres in the third round of their August 18 clash as part of MVPospects 2.
Temple has won five straight, including four consecutive knockouts all inside of two rounds.
Tellez continues his rapid progression from prospect to contender. The 23-year-old earned by far his most notable victory to date in a third-round knockout of former title challenger Sergio Garcia. The bout took place on the July 29 Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Navarro rebounded from his lone career defeat with four consecutive victories. The former amateur standout picked up back-to-back knockout wins on consecutive weekends in October but returns to far more aggressive matchmaking in the all-Cuban junior middleweight clash.
MVP also revealed four preliminary bouts preceding the main telecast:
- Zachary Randolph (9-3-1, 3 KOs) of Fairmont, WV will face Pittsburgh’s Michael Manna (7-5, 4 KOs) in a scheduled six-round cruiserweight bout;
- Elijah Flores (6-0, 2 KOs)—a 19-year-old prospect and Caribe regular (sixth straight appearance)—meets Javier Mayoral (6-3-1, 1 KO), also set for six rounds;
- Alex Gueche (2-0, 2 KOs)—an 18-year-old newcomer from Long Beach, CA will face a yet-to-be-named opponent in a four-round bantamweight contest;
- Xavier Bocanegra (3-0, 2 KOs) also awaits confirmation on a foe ahead of his scheduled four-round featherweight affair.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox