Yoenis Tellez's first defense of his interim WBA junior middleweight title is now set.
The former Cuban amateur standout will face the WBA's No. 1-ranked contender
Abass Baraou on Aug. 23 at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, in the co-main event of a
Most Valuable Promotions card on DAZN. The card will be headlined by Yankiel Rivera vs. Angelino Cordova for the interim WBA flyweight title.
MVP also announced Stephanie Han (10-0, 3 KOs) vs. WBA lightweight titleholder Paulina Angel (7-1-2, 3 KOs). Former junior welterweight title challenger Jamaine Ortiz (19-2-1, 9 KOs) will face Steve Claggett (39-8-2, 27 KOs) in a 10-round bout for a WBA regional belt.
Tellez (10-0, 7 KOs) became the interim champion with a
dominant unanimous decision over former unified junior middleweight champion Julian Williams (29-5-1, 17 KOs) on March 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Germany's Baraou (16-1, 9 KOs) will end a 14-month layoff when travelling back stateside for this encounter, having last fought in June 2024 where he outpointed Macaulay McGowan to defend his EBU European title at Bolton Whites Hotel in Bolton, England.
Baraou has since relinquished the title, having
originally been slated to defend against Milan Prat on three different occasions between February-April this year. Prat (27-1, 21 KOs) will instead face EBU Silver champion Jan Helin (18-4-1, 13 KOs) on a show TBC promoted by Europrom, according to their latest update.
Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) holds the WBA junior middleweight world title. As he moves up to face undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, he'll likely vacate that belt, which may see the Tellez-Baraou winner either be elevated to full champion or earn a vacant world title shot.