What to Know
- MVPW05 delivered a world-record accomplishment and a new unified champion on its card on Saturday in Orlando.
- Tamm Thibeault earned the Ring Magazine belt with her win over middleweight champion Desley Robinson in just her fifth pro fight, the fastest in boxing history.
- Former champion Dina Thorslund won her relinquished titles back from Cherneka Johnson in an impressive return to the ring after a year away.
Dina Thorslund Earns Her Undisputed Titles Back
Dina Thorslund of Denmark (25-0, 9 KOs) put her emotions aside and her boxing pedigree on display Saturday in the main event of the Most Valuable Promotions MVPW05, winning back the undisputed bantamweight titles she was forced to relinquish and held by her opponent Cherneka Johnson of Australia (19-3, 8 KOs).
Thorslund returned from a year layoff due to an unanticipated pregnancy and miscarriage. Just days prior to Saturday’s fight, Thorslund’s sparring partner Raven Chapman of Great Britain suffered a brain bleed and underwent emergency surgery. She is expected to survive with a long recovery ahead. Thorslund promised she would channel all her emotions into her return to the ring.
Those emotions translated into her world-class boxing skills, ring generalship, and effective aggression, exactly what judges look for. She was rewarded with three 100-90 shutout scorecards after completely neutralizing Johnson.
Thorslund took Johnson’s confidence and her jab away from her, firing punches at will with impressive speed and volume. It took Johnson several rounds to adjust, and by the fifth round she was blocking more shots and finding a way to come forward. No matter to Thorslund, who started throwing her combinations off the back foot instead. She’s simply that good.
In the final rounds, Thorslund focused on preventing Johnson from gaining back any ground. By this point, she was so far ahead on the scorecards only a knockout would deny her the win.
The emotions flooded back as Thorslund heard it made official by ring announcer Kody Mommaerts declaring Thorslund the new champion. In the ring with her son Adrian holding one of the belts, she talked about getting through the last year.
“When I’ve seen people cry when they win, I’m like, ‘yeah, you’re the champ. Don’t cry!’ But this has been so an emotional journey for me the last year, and my thought was, ‘I’m gonna take this straight back to Raven and say thank you,” said Thorslund, thanking her family and her team, ESPN, MVP, and promoter Jake Paul and Nakisa Badarian. “It’s just an amazing explosion of emotion and relief to all the work pays off.”
Thorslund explained the struggle many mothers face in balancing all their obligations and ambitions, even if they aren’t world champions.
“Things have been so hard and difficult, and I’ve been like the worst mom and wife the last few months. Even my son said a few weeks ago, ‘Next time you’re in training. I’d rather be more with Dad.’ That hurts. That’s an arrow through the heart, but I understand.
“But that’s how things are. We work as a team, and he’s so understanding for everything I go through,” said Thorslund.
Tamm Thibeault Breaks Record, Becomes New Unified Middleweight Champion
Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Tamm Thibeault of Shawinigan, Quebec (5-0, 3 KOs) got the call to face unified IBF and WBO World Middleweight champion Desley Robinson of Logan City, Queensland (12-4, 4 KOs) in the co-main event after just four pro fights. Both women predicted a terrific battle, and that’s what the fans got.
Thibeault took the fight to Robinson and dominated every minute of all ten rounds, bloodying Robinson to win a unanimous decision with three shutout scorecards of 100 – 90. Thibault and Thorslund share the Performance of the Night, splitting a $20,000 bonus.
“I work really hard and I put my head down. I don’t say much. I’m not much of a talker, but I do the work and it showed tonight. I came in, I took a challenge. Desley’s a warrior, and I stepped up,” said Thibeault.
Thibeault becomes the new unified champion in just her fifth pro fight, also earning the Ring Magazine title. Thibeault now holds the record for earning the Ring belt in the fewest number of pro fights. The previous record was set by Leon Spinks with his 1978 victory over Muhammad Ali in his eighth pro fight.
“I didn’t think it would happen this quick. I didn’t think it would be possible. It’s only possible because what have MVP here putting us the platform and allowing us to dream big. As women when we box, we’ll told to get an education and think of Plan B and think of life after boxing because the opportunities aren’t there. But now that’s significantly different.”
“At the same time, I’ve earned it. I work hard, I put my head down. I’m very critical with myself. I make sure I’m always getting better. That’s my priority,” said Thibeault.
The Canadian showed she belonged in the ring with Robinson, outworking her in a smart and skilled performance with power, speed, footwork, and smart aggression. She had the accomplished champion backing up, rattled and off balance due to Thibeault’s command of the fight.
Thibeault dealt with the doubters and dealt with Robinson with tremendous power and poise from her extensive amateur resume, taking the fight to Robinson with stiff jabs and hard hooks to the body and the head in a sensational performance.
“I’m someone who challenges myself … I think that’s what courage is, even though it may be big and crazy sometimes,” said Thibeault. This is why we named Thibeault our women’s Prospect of the Year in 2025.
Thibeault landed 117 of 287 punches thrown, with 87 landed power punches. Robinson could only land 37 total punches of 232 thrown, an astonishing statistic. Robinson tried to get her jab going, but Thibeault’s speed and timing along with her footwork deflected most of Robinson’s incoming shots.
In the seventh round, an accidental head clash opened a bloody faucet from Thibeault’s nose. Thibeault was likely way ahead on the cards, but she continued and finished the fight. Thibeault said she told herself, “just five rounds left.”
Thibeault made it clear she wants all the belts. We’re pretty sure she is also the first fighter to offer a quote from the Disney film “Finding Dory.”
“If there’s something that you can say to your younger self and everything that you’ve done. Just keep going, like Dory says. Just keep swimming, y’all. Just keep going. Consistency, perseverance-that’s what it takes.”
Amanda Galle Gives Herself Options After Win Over Shuretta Metcalf
After losing her bantamweight world title to Cherneka Johnson, Shuretta Metcalf of Dallas, Texas (15-6-1, 2 KOs) made the move to super flyweight in an attempt to win a title in a second division.
Amanda Galle of Ontario, Canada (13-1-1, 1 KO), whose only loss also came to Johnson, also made the move to super flyweight to face Metcalf, saying it was to keep her options open.
Galle slammed the door on Metcalf with a strong performance at the new weight, winning the eight-round bout by scores of 80-72, 80-72, and 78-74. Galle later said she considered it her worst performance, facing an awkward opponent in Metcalf.
“I started with my pedal to the medal in round one so I’ll take credit for that. You’re going to see a better version of Amanda Galle going forward,” saying she wants to earn a world title opportunity. “I respect (MVP’s) plan, and whatever they ask of me I will be ready, willing, and say yes.”
Despite a significant height and reach advantage, Galle took charge and dominated Metcalf who never seemed to get her legs under her. Galle pressured Metcalf and backed her up, throwing and landing more than double the punch output as Metcalf.
The former mixed martial artist showed off some of her moves in celebrating her win. Might it also be an option now that MVP has merged with the PFL?
“The energy was like rivals up there on stage, but I had to stick to focusing on what my task was, and that was Shuretta,” said Galle.
“I’m 37. I want to capitalize on the moment, the rise of equal pay in women’s boxing, and that’s now,” said Galle.
Galle now positions herself as a top contender in the super flyweight division, including MVP’s IBF champion Irma Garcia, WBC champion Adelaida Maria Ruiz, and popular WBO and Ring Magazine unified champion Mizuki Hiruta of Japan.
Krystal Rosado Delivers Shutout Win
The main card opening bout featured a classic Puerto Rico versus Mexico battle with nonstop action from bell to bell. Krystal Rosado of Puerto Rico (10-1, 2 KOs) has the superior skills and outworked a game Alondra Yamile Hernandez Mendoza of Mexico (11-3, 2 KOs) to win her tenth fight by scores of 80-72, 80-72, and 80-72
Dainier Pero Breezes To KO Win
On the earlier undercard, Cuban heavyweight Dainier Pero of Cuba (14-0, 11 KOs) made quick work of opponent Aleem Whitfield of Geneva, New York (10-2, 6 KOs), battering him and backing him up from the bell until referee Michael DeJesus put a stop to the beatdown at 2:20 of the third round.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
