Antonio Vargas landed the interim WBA bantamweight title with a dominant victory over Winston Guerrero in the headliner of MVP 10. The final “Most Valuable Prospects” card of 2024 took place at Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida on December 13.
The scheduled 12-round clash ended prior to the final bell. Vargas (19-1, 11 KOs) of Houston, Texas dropped his opponent from Nicaragua early in the first round with a right uppercut – left hook combination. Guerrero (22-1, 13 KOs) paid him back with an overhand right in the second round.
Referee Chris Young stepped in and called it a day after Vargas tagged Guerrero with a big right hand and continued to inflict damage with a barrage of strikes. The official time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 10 seconds into the 10th round.
28-year-old Antonio Vargas now has a chance to face reigning WBA 118-pound champion Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8 KOs) of Japan.
In the co-main event, Javon “Wanna” Walton (2-0-1, 1 KO) of Atlanta, GA defeated Erik Hanley (1-2, 1 KO) of Oceanside, NY by majority decision. After four rounds at lightweight, the scores were 38-38, 40-36 and 40-36.
Also on the card, Dainier Pero (10-0, 8 KOs) dropped and stopped Walter Burns (8-3, 6 KOs) of Detroit, MI at 2:50 into the first round. With the victory, the Cuban heavyweight lifted the vacant WBA Continental USA belt.
In the main card opener, Tammara Thibeault (1-0) made her successful pro boxing debut in an all-Canadian clash against Natasha Spence (8-7-2, 6 KOs). After six rounds at middleweight, all three scores were 40-36.
In MVP 10 undercard action
Atop the MVP 10 prelims, Venezuela’s Jocksan Blanco (8-0, 4 KOs) upset Jeovanny Estela (14-2, 5 KOs) of Orlando, FL with a majority decision at super welterweight. After eight rounds, the scores were 76-76, 77-75, and 77-75. In addition to the win, Blanco walked away holding the WBA Continental USA belt.
Another majority decision went in favor of Armenia’s Gurgen Hovhannisyan (7-0, 6 KOs), who defeated Patrick Mailata (6-3, 3 KOs) of Samoa in an eight-rounder at heavyweight. The scores were 76-76, 77-75 and 77-75.
Plus, Hendri Cedeno (15-0, 11 KOs) of the Dominican Republic earned a unanimous decision against Luis Hernandez Ramos (23-6, 20 KOs) of Mexico. The eight-round super lightweight matchup ended with the scores 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74.
Among other MVP 10 results, Jamar Pemberton (8-1, 5 KOs) of Saint Louis, MS took a majority decision over Kahlil Mitchell (4-1, 2 KOs) of Chattanooga, TN. After six rounds at middleweight, the judges scored the fight 56-56, 57-55, and 57-55.
As well, Alex Bray (8-0, 6 KOs) of Melbourne, Florida claimed the WBA Continental Americas super welterweight title via first-round TKO against Gaston Rios (10-2, 7 KOs) of Argentina. Antreveous Ingram (9-0, 4 KOs) of Kissimmee, Florida eliminated Freddy Espinoza (10-8, 7 KOs) of Nicaragua in the first round at super welterweight.
Kicking off the action, Fradimil Macayo (18-1, 14 KOs) of Venezuela knocked out Oscar Escandon (27-9, 18 KOs) of Colombia in the second round at lightweight.