Brazil's lightweight belt holder Beatriz “The Beast” Ferreira weighed in Friday at 134.6lbs for her title defense against Argentina's Maria Ines Ferreyra on Saturday night. Ferreyra, 11-0 (6 KOs), weighed 133lbs. The fight will be the main event of “Most Valuable Prospects 13: Championship Edition” at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. Promoted by MVP and Boxlab Promotions, the card will stream on DAZN.
Despite being a two-time Olympian, winning silver in 2020 and bronze in 2024, Ferreira fights with an aggressive style seemingly far better suited to the pro ranks, which she attributes to the influence of her father.
“My father was my great inspiration,” Ferreira, 6-0 (2 KOs), told BoxingScene via a translator earlier this week. “He was a professional fighter, so I believe I learned the style of the professional before the Olympics.”
At age 32, the IBF lightweight titlist Ferreira has set herself a goal of unifying belts at both 130 and 135lbs over the next 3-4 years, and she'll do so as part of MVP's growing roster of female fighters.
“I'm very happy with this opportunity I have now, with the women's boxing scene growing and being part of this,” she said. “So I'm very happy for all this support from a great company. This vision, this affection for women's boxing, is what I fight to be a part of. So I'm happy. I'm happy and ready to put on a show on Saturday to continue this legacy for the girls.”
The scheduled co-main event, between another two-time Brazilian Olympian, Keno Marley, and fellow cruiserweight Sean Sparks, was canceled when Marley suffered a fight-week injury. Stepping up to-main status will be yet another Brazilian, Luan Medeiros, 5-0 (4 KOs), who will face Tony Aguilar over a scheduled eight lightweight rounds.
Full weigh-in weights are as follows:
Women's lightweight title – 10 rounds
Beatriz Ferreira (134.6lbs) vs. Maria Ines Ferreyra (133.0lbs)
Lightweights – eight rounds
Luan Medeiros (134.0) vs. Tony Aguilar (134.4)
Bantamweights – six rounds
Bree Howling (118.0) vs. Naomy Cardenas (118.0)
Junior middleweights – six rounds
Antraveous Ingram (154.0) vs. Sona Akale (153.4)
Bantamweights – eight rounds
Reina Tellez (122.2) vs. Maria Salinas (123.4)
Middleweights – six rounds
Alexis Chaparro (162.6) vs. Daijohn Gonzalez (162.0)
Middleweights – six rounds
Sebastian Juarez (158.0) vs. Shaquille Cameron (156.8)
Junior featherweights – eight rounds
Chavez Barrientes (121.6) vs. Sharone Carter (123.6)
Welterweights – six rounds
Amos Cowart (144.4) vs. Luis Perez (147.0)
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, including most recently , and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.