Most Valuable Prospects 10: Antonio Vargas Stops Winston Guerrero  for WBA Bantamweight Interim Title

By Matthew Benoliel

Orlando, Fl. Antonio Vargas (19-1, 11 KOs) took home the WBA Interim Bantamweight Title when he stopped the previously undefeated Winston Guerrero (now 22-1, 13 KOs) at Most Valuable Prospects 10. Broadcast worldwide on DAZN, the event kicked off the WBA’s 103rd Annual Convention at the beautiful Caribe Royale Hotel and Resort in Orlando, FL. It was a night that I’m sure Vargas will not soon forget.

The fight began at one hundred percent intensity, with both men going down in the opening rounds Within the first thirty seconds of round one, Vargas stunned Guerrero with a right uppercut, left hook combination that landed with textbook speed and precision. Then, in round two, Guerrero dropped Vargas with a well-placed overhand right. High level stuff here.

The fight continued with both men finding success but Vargas remained ahead on the cards. Guerrero was definitely in the fight all the way up until the tenth round. In the tenth, Vargas stepped on the gas and landed a barrage of punches that all found their targets. When Guerrero seemed unable to defend himself, referee Chris Young decided that he had seen enough. The fight was called off at 2:10 of round number ten.

With the interim belt secured, Vargas is sure to challenge for a world title in 2025. Currently, BoxRec has him as the number one ranked Bantamweight in the United States. However, the competition overseas is fierce in this often-overlooked weight class. One of the better-known bantamweights, Jason Maloney recently lost his WBO World title to Japan’s Yoshiki Takei, who, in turn, has defended that title once already. There are also several other monsters from Japan, with last names like Inoue (no, not that Monster, the younger brother) and Nakatani, who is the current, undefeated, WBC World Champion.

MVP’s own prospect, Javon “Wanna” Walton went into his fight with a record of 1 win and 1 draw. His opponent, Erik Hanley has one win and one loss. Though their professional records were comparable, Walton has more amateur experience. Some, including myself, may have categorized Walton as another “influencer” boxer, but Walton is the real deal. His last fight was unimpressive, reportedly due to bad circumstance, but he definitely proved this evening that he is worthy of a second opinion. Throughout the four round fight, Walton was able to connect with many of his shots and showed good fundamental skill and power. Although one judge scored the fight 38-38, the other two judges had Walton wining all four rounds. As did I.

Heavyweight Danier “The Fear” Pero of Cuba, now fighting out of Miami, advanced his professional record to 10-0 with 8 KOs when he blasted Walter Burns (8-2-0, 6 KOs) into oblivion in the first round. Burn went down twice in the first and could not regain his composure enough to continue beyond the 2:50 mark. This victory is the fifth TKO win for Danier in 2024, making for a very active year.

An overlooked nugget on the card saw the pro debut of Tammara Thibeault, a two-time Olympian from Canada. Tammara enjoyed a height and reach advantage over her opponent, Natasha Spence (8-7-2, 6 KOs), who we last saw on the undercard of MVP’s Jake Paul-Mike Perry card. Fighting out of a southpaw stance, Thibeault used her jab well to control the distance. Her left hand landed with considerable power, and Spence was simply unable to find

any openings for her own offense. In the end, all three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Thibeault. The future is bright for her in the middleweight division.

MVP 10 was co-promoted by Most Valuable Promotions and BoxLab Promotions.