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Andreas Hale
Former IBF women’s bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges will make her promotional debut with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions on the undercard of Amanda Serrano’s rematch with Ericka Cruz on January 3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bridges (9-2, 4 KOs) will face Alexis Araiza (3-2-1, 1 KO) in an eight-round fight at 118 pounds.
Not only will this be Bridges’ first fight under a new promotional banner, but it will also be her first fight since giving birth to a baby boy in February, marking a new chapter of her life.
“I’m excited to be getting back in the ring after some time out and even more excited to have my gorgeous son ringside. He’s a whole new level of motivation for me,” Bridges, 39, said in a statement. “I can’t wait to do what I do best: entertain, put on a show, and deliver an exciting fight. Puerto Ricans are known for their heart, pride, and aggression, and those qualities are in my fundamentals. I think they’re going to love the Blonde Bomber.”
The Australian hasn’t fought since dropping the IBF bantamweight title in a unanimous decision to Miyo Yoshida in December 2023. She signed with MVP in July and will be one of the most popular fighters on the Serrano-Cruz 2 undercard, that also features Holly Holm, with over 800,000 followers on Instagram.
Bridges-Araiza will be joined by six additional bouts, including the promotional debut of Raquel Miller (13-0, 6 KOs) and MVP’s young Puerto Rico talent Krystal Rosado (7-1, 2 KOs) joining 14 other Boricua fighters on the card in San Juan.
“With the return of Amanda Serrano and Holly Holm, and the MVP debuts of both Ebanie and Raquel Miller, plus seven additional Puerto Rican fighters joining the event, this card has grown into one of the deepest and most meaningful fight nights we’ve produced and we are proud to deliver it to Puerto Rico,” Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of MVP, said in a statement. “Amanda Serrano will put on a show for her island as she leads an incredible card with 13 fights, featuring the best of women’s boxing and fifteen Puerto Rican fighters. Fans in San Juan and around the world are going to witness something special on Saturday, January 3rd, live on DAZN.”