Puerto Rican prospect Jan Paul Rivera (9-0, 5 KOs) will fight Atlanta, Georgia’s Justin Goodson (8-0, 8 KOs) in a revised main event on MVP’s Most Valuable Prospects 7 show at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida on July 26, the organization announced. The eight-round featherweight contest replaces the originally scheduled headliner between heavyweights Gurgen “Big Gug” Hovhanissyan and Robert Hall, Jr, which was canceled after Hovhanissyan suffered an injury while training.
The 23-year-old Rivera, who will be fighting in his first main event, most recently outpointed David Perez in April on Most Valuable Prospects 6, also at Caribe Royale. Goodson, 28, has built a perfect record since turning pro in 2021 and is coming off a fifth-round knockout of 50-fight veteran and former NABO titlist Rodolfo Hernandez Montoya.
In the co-main event, Cuban Olympian and heavyweight Dainier “The Fear” Pero (7-0, 5 KOs) fights Toledo, Ohio’s James “Nothing Nice” Evans (7-1-1, 7 KOs) over eight rounds. The 6’5” Pero is coming off a first-round knockout of Jose Mario Tamez, which followed a two-round stoppage of Joe Jones in February. Evans has gone the distance just once in nine fights, in a draw against Steven Torres, who also handed him his sole defeat in July 2023.
The undercard includes a six-round heavyweight contest between St. Petersburg, Florida’s Damazion “Mazirati” Vanhouter (6-0, 3 KOs) and Cody Kerr (3-2-1, 1 KO) from Spearfish, South Dakota; a six-round lightweight bout featuring Kaipo Gallegos (5-0-1, 4 KOs) from Las Vegas, Nevada and Armanda Frausto (10-4-1, 5 KOs), who hails from La Marque, Texas by way of Fresno, California; a previously announced contest pitting Amand Serrano’s first signed fighter Krystal Rosado (3-0, 1 KO) against Russia’s Veronica Dmitriyeva (1-1) over six rounds at bantamweight; and a six-round heavyweight contest between David Garcia (6-0, 3 KOs) and Dominicc Hardy (6-2, 4 KOs), among others.
Boxlab Promotions will act as the official licensed promoter for the event, which will be broadcast live on DAZN.
“Friday, July 26 is shaping up to be one of our most exciting Most Valuable Prospects events to date, featuring our new main event from the exceptionally talented Puerto Rican prospect Jan Paul Rivera vs. an undeniable knockout puncher in Justin Goodson,” read a statement from Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of MVP.
“We’re pleased to welcome Boxlab Promotions’ Dainier Pero back for his third appearance, following his stunning back-to-back knockouts in Most Valuable Prospects 5 and 6 earlier this spring. This will be another spectacular night of fights in Orlando, and we are excited to continue building young fighters from Puerto Rico through our partnership with Boxlab and Amanda Serrano.”
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