Amanda Serrano and Reina Tellez came face to face for the first time ahead of their championship bout at the pre-fight press conference on Tuesday. The contest headlines the first MVP event of 2026 on January 3 at Coliseo Roberto Clemente Walker in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Serrano (47-4-1, 31 KOs) puts her unified WBA and WBO featherweight titles on the line, aiming to bounce back from two losses against Katie Taylor. The 37-year-old Puerto Rican was originally scheduled to face Erika Cruz for the second time, but their rematch was canceled following an “atypical finding” in Cruz’s VADA testing.
At the press conference, Serrano promised fans “a treat” when she faces Tellez inside the ring.
“I’m super excited to be here,” Serrano said. “The last time I fought in Puerto Rico was right here [at Plaza del Tótem]. The ring was right here in the middle, and I got a stoppage. It was an amazing night, and I’m excited to be here again with this amazing card, amazing fighters, and amazing women. You guys are in for a treat Saturday night.”
“This is the business. We can be nice to each other outside. Obviously, you’ve seen all of my fights. I’ve never been disrespectful to any of my opponents. But when we go in there, we put in that work, and we make sure the fans get what they paid for, and we’re going to go out there.”
“And whoever comes out victorious, we’re still going to be friends afterwards. I’m still going to be a fan of Reina’s and her sister. And I’m still going to watch her grow into the sport and the amazing champion she will be one day.”
‘It took me about a day’
Taking the fight on fairly short notice, Tellez (13-0-1, 5 KOs) of Vero Beach, Florida, makes her first attempt to become a champion and looks to claim two of boxing’s major belts. The San Antonio-based 22-year-old said it took her about a day to accept the fight.
“First of all, Puerto Rico is beautiful,” Tellez said. “I’ve never been here. When I got the call, I was shocked. Someone [Amanda Serrano] I’ve watched my whole life. I think she fought for her first world title when I first started boxing. It tells the tale. I’m extremely grateful to be on this platform, but let alone fight somebody I watched growing up and just in my career.”
“It’s just crazy to say sometimes I just think about it, and I can’t fully process it because it’s real. I didn’t think I would be in this position, let alone this year. When they gave me the call, I took the opportunity and just jumped on it, and we’re doing what we can do.”
“It took me about a day [to take the fight]. I knew that opportunities like this come once in a lifetime, and you never know when it’s going to come back around. I really have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s a high-risk, high-reward situation, and like I said, I’m grateful for it.”
“I’m going to do what the gameplan is. There’s going to be some instances where we’re going to have to fight it out, and there’s going to be times where we’re boxing.”
In the co-feature, Stephanie Han (11-0, 3 KOs) of El Paso, Texas, faces Holly Holm (34-2-3, 9 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Han makes her second defense of the WBA lightweight title, while former boxing and UFC champion Holm looks to once again claim one of the belts recognized by IBHOF.