Fresh from promoting the first all-women’s boxing card at Madison Square Garden, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) has announced the signing of five more boxers to its expansive and expanding roster of female fighters.
Britain’s former bantamweight world titleholder Shannon Courtenay; Australia’s unified middleweight titleholder Desley Robinson; junior bantamweight titlist Jasmine Artiga; 19-time U.S. national amateur champion Sa’Rai Brown-El; and Mexico’s former unified junior flyweight titleholder Yesica Nery Plata are the latest to join a grouping that includes such names as Amanda Serrano, Alycia Baumgardner, Savannah Marshall, Ellie Scotney, Cherneka Johnson and more.
At the age of just 19, Brown-El has already been boxing for nine years, having first gloved up at age 10 and subsequently won both the Junior Olympics and the National Golden Globes. Dubbed the “future of women's boxing” by USA Boxing, she competes at junior flyweight and flyweight.
Robinson, 10-3 (3 KOs), is coming off an April defeat of Chloe Chaos to add the vacant WBO strap to the IBF belt she won by outpointing Kaye Scott in December. Robinson, who defeated Scott despite having a fractured foot, is also a single mother to three children.
Artiga, 13-0-1 (6 KOs), transitioned to boxing from the Legends Football League at age 21, and she most recently won the WBA belt at 115lbs by outpointing Mexico's Regina Chavez in March. She will compete on MVP Fight Night in Orlando, Florida, on August 23.
Nery Plata, 30-2 (3 KOs), has been competing in the pro ranks since 2011. She claimed the WBA crown at 108lbs with victory over Yesica Bopp in March 2022, then added the WBC belt via unanimous decision over Kim Clavel in January 2023. Despite 19 months of inactivity, she is still ranked first by the WBA and second by ESPN at 108 lbs.
Courtenay, 9-3 (3 KOs), won the WBA bantamweight title in April 2021 following a hard-fought win over fellow new MVP signee Ebanie Bridges but lost the title on the scales in her first defense, a majority decision loss to Jamie Mitchell in 2021. She added one more win, then spent nearly two years out of the ring, returning to action in October 2024. Most recently, Courtenay secured a win over Bec Connolly in March.
MVP co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian said the five signees “represent five powerful stories, four countries with proud boxing legacy, and one shared mission: to compete and win at the highest level. From one of the most decorated amateurs in U.S. history to unified world champions, they embody the same brand of world-class skill, relentless drive and undeniable presence we are cultivating at MVP. We look forward to each of their MVP debuts in the coming months.”
