Most Valuable Promotions has re-wired its Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano III undercard into a four-belt showcase. When WBC/WBO titlist Dina Thorslund withdrew to welcome her second child, IBF champion Shurretta “Shug” Metcalf and WBA ruler Cherneka “Sugar Neekz” Johnson agreed to meet at Madison Square Garden with every 118-lb strap on the line; Thorslund has been named WBC “Champion in Recess,” leaving her belts up for grabs.
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Metcalf, 40, shocked plenty last October by outboxing Miyo Yoshida for the vacant IBF crown. The Dallas native calls 11 July her “legacy night,” promising to become Texas’ first undisputed champion in any female weight class. Johnson, a slick New Zealand-born southpaw now based in Melbourne, halted Nina Hughes in March and says MSG is a “pinch-me” stage: “Defending, unifying, and joining MVP in one night - that’s the chapter I’ve always wanted.”
The all-women’s Netflix pay-per-view is stacked: Katie Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) defends undisputed super-lightweight status against arch-rival Amanda Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs); Alycia Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs) puts her super-featherweight sweep on the line versus unbeaten Spaniard Jennifer Miranda (12-0, 1 KO); Savannah Marshall (13-1, 10 KOs) meets big-punching Shadasia Green (15-1, 11 KOs) to unify at 168; and Ellie Scotney (10-0) squares off with Yamileth Mercado (24-3, 5 KOs) for full control of 122 lbs.
Thorslund (23-0, 9 KOs) can petition for mandatory status on her return, but Garden history won’t wait: Metcalf’s grit versus Johnson’s rhythm will decide who leaves as the first undisputed bantamweight champion of the four-belt era - and who becomes the hunted whenever the Danish star laces them up again.
Read more about the upcoming Serrano vs. Taylor III event.
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