Ring City USA Announces Two Compelling Fights For Their April Card

Los Angeles – April 8, 2021 – Ring City USA today announced two compelling undercard matchups that will round out the main card for its Thursday, April 22 event from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. and live on NBC Sports Network (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

The co-main event of the evening is a women’s featherweight world title bout between WBA World Champion Jelena Mrdjenovich (41-10-2, 19 KOs) of Edmonton, Canada, and world ranked contender Erika Cruz Hernandez (12-1-0, 3 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico, scheduled for ten rounds. Also featured on the NBC Sports Network main card is a highly anticipated clash between top undefeated junior welterweight prospects Juan Pablo ‘El Pivi’ Romero (13-0, 9 KOs) of Villa del Carbon, Mexico and Jonathan ‘Thunder’ Navarro (17-0, 9 KOs) of East Los Angeles, Calif., scheduled for ten rounds.

Mrdjenovich, 38, returns to the Ring City USA squared circle following her fifth world title defense, a 10-round unanimous decision victory against Iranda Paolo Torres on December 17, 2020 at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles, Calif. The three-division world champion won the WBA world title in March 2016 defeating champion Edith Matthysse. A pioneer for women’s boxing in Canada, Mrdjenovich is currently the second-ranked featherweight in the world by Ring Magazine, behind only recent Ring City victor Amanda Serrano.

Upset-minded Cruz Hernandez, 30, will be challenging for her first world title. The southpaw is currently riding an 11-bout winning streak including victories over world ranked contenders Vissia Trovato and Jocelyn Morales Torres.

Making his United States debut, heavy-handed Juan Pablo Romero arrives for battle following a ten-round unanimous decision over Sergio Torres on November 28, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico. Prior to his most recent outing, Romero, 31, has faced top competition for a rising prospect and performed well by knocking out four consecutive opponents within the first four rounds.

The 24-year-old Jonathan Navarro has become one of the most highly touted prospects in the United States since turning professional five years ago. The nephew of former perennial contenders Jose and Carlos Navarro, Jonathan is trained by the renowned Robert Garcia. Coming off a 17-month layoff, he hits the ring following a tremendous second round knockout of Lebin Morales on October 24, 2019 in Indio, CA. Among the victories on his ledger include a seventh-round knockout over then-unbeaten contender Damon Allen in August 2018.

The April 22 event from West Point, N.Y. is headlined by the previously announced heavyweight clash between undefeated contenders Jermaine Franklin (20-0, 13 KOs) and Stephan Shaw (14-0, 10 KOs). Bonus undercard action will stream live around the world on Twitch. Armed Forces Network Europe and Pacific will also make the broadcast available to U.S. Forces serving overseas on AFN TV.

More details on the Ring City USA event on April 22 from West Point will be announced at a later date. Follow Ring City USA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates or visit www.ringcityusa.com.

About Ring City USA

Ring City, which launched in 2020, is boxing’s newest sports media platform. Working in tandem with a variety of promoters and talent, its new boxing series places an emphasis on competitive matchups that genuinely test the fighters and excite the fight fans. Ring City provides great fights in the ring and compelling shoulder programming outside of the ring. Ring City is the proving ground where up-and-coming talent can earn their stripes and launch themselves into the upper echelon of boxing stardom.

About West Point 

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant—to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U. S. Army. For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu.