Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced the broadcast team and main card additions for the Jake Paul vs. Andre August and Most Valuable Prospects IV event taking place on Friday, December 15 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL live on DAZN as a part of its subscription package.
Paul vs. August, presented by CELSIUS Essential Energy Drink, will feature famed voices in combat sports including Ariel Helwani, Todd Grisham and Dan Canobbio as the night’s commentators and ringside analysts, with YouTube boxing commentator Wade Plemons serving as host.
The Most Valuable Prospects IV main card will feature two additional action-packed bouts between light middleweights Yoenis Tellez (6-0, 5 KOs) vs. Livan Navarro (15-1, 9 KOs) for the WBA Continental Latin Americas title and heavyweights Lorenzo Medina (8-0, 7 KOs) vs. Joshua Temple (12-2, 10 KOs).
Lorenzo Medina vs. Joshua Temple will kick off the Most Valuable Prospects IV main card with a 6-round heavyweight bout on Friday, December 15. Medina, the 19-year-old heavy hitter and Most Valuable Prospects fan favourite, returns to Most Valuable Prospects IV from Hialeah, Florida to continue testing his 8-fight undefeated professional record against the more experienced Temple. The St. Louis, Missouri native Temple, a twelve-time national amateur champion, comes to the ring off a five-fight win streak ready to test his early-round knockout power on Medina.
Following the bout will be the highly-anticipated 10-round light middleweight Cuban battle between star prospect Yoenis Tellez vs. Livan Navarro for the WBA Continental Latin Americas title. Tellez (6-0, 5 KOs), from Stafford, Texas by way of Santiago, Cuba, made a name for himself in the opening PPV bout of the Terrence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr. welterweight championship unification showdown, in which Tellez took on the far more experienced Sergio Ramos and dealt Ramos a brutal 3rd round knockout, the seasoned Garcia’s third loss in 37 professional matches – and his first loss by TKO.
Tellez spent most of his youth in Cuba as an amateur boxer, winning national youth titles in 2017 and 2018 before moving to Russia in 2020 to make his pro debut. Tellez eventually moved to Texas in 2022 to begin training with Ronnie Shields. He is managed by Eduardo Perez and promoted by BoxLab Promotions and Warrior’s Boxing.
Livan Navarro (15-1, 9 KOs), the Miami-based fighter out of Havana, Cuba, is on a four fight win streak and will take the ring against Tellez following a strong 15-1 start to his professional career and following an impressive 306-20 amateur record. Navarro made his pro debut at age 24 and secured an 11-0 record within his first three years as a professional, before suffering a hard loss to Justin DeLoach in 2020. Navarro enters the ring vs. Tellez coming off a four-fight win streak, seeking to put his name back at the top of the rankings. He is trained by Jorge Rubio.
Providing commentary on these fights will be an all-star broadcast team consisting of Todd Grisham, Wade Plemons, and Dan Canobbio. Beloved YouTube boxing commentator Wade Plemons will serve as host of the show, while Dan Canobbio, Fox Sports’ boxing regular and host of Pluto TV’s Inside Boxing Live returns to serve as analyst and commentator. ESPN veteran and DAZN combat sports reporter Todd Grisham will provide commentary and call the fights throughout the Paul vs. August and Most Valuable Prospects IV main card. Famed combat sports reporter Ariel Helwani will serve as the ringside reporter. The full main card will be offered on DAZN subscription to ensure accessibility to fans worldwide.
“We built the Most Valuable Prospects series on the foundation of giving young and upcoming talent a platform to display their skills and build their names on our stage. As we close out this year’s Most Valuable Prospects series on Friday, December 15th, we are proud to welcome back Lorenzo Medina, who alongside Yoenis Tellez, Livan Navarro, and Joshua Temple personify the skill and energy Most Valuable Prospects represents,” said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP.
“With Shadasia Green battling for the WBC super middleweight championship and Jake continuing on his journey to being world champion, this is not only a card every boxing fan can enjoy, but is exactly what we envisioned when we launched this series. Thank you to DAZN, Caribe Royale Resort, BoxLab, and CELSIUS for this incredible year of partnership. We look forward to unveiling our next six installments in 2024 showcasing more of the young, rising athletes around the world.”
Fans will also get the opportunity to witness four additional preliminary bouts during the Paul vs. August fight. Cruiserweight Zachary Randolph (9-3-1, 3 KOs) out of Fairmont, WV will take on Pittsburgh, PA fighter Michael Manna (7-5, 4 KOs) over six rounds, and 19-year-old welterweight prospect Elijah Flores (6-0, 2 KOs) will put his undefeated record on the line against Javier Mayoral (6-3-1, 1 KO). Bantamweight Alex Gueche (2-0, 2 KOs), the 18-year-old out of Long Beach, CA will also take the ring for a four round bout, ahead of Xavier Bocanegra (3-0, 2 KOs)’s featherweight four round battle.