Reina Tellez: Rising Star After Facing Amanda Serrano
Reina Tellez is not supposed to be here this quickly. Not on major undercards. Not already a familiar name to hardcore fans. Not after taking on Amanda Serrano with barely two weeks to prepare and walking away with a defeat on the cards.
Yet here she is, 23 years old, back under the lights and riding the kind of momentum that only comes from daring to say yes when most would have said no.
From 15 Days’ Notice to a Global Stage
In January, Tellez accepted the kind of assignment that can break a career as easily as it can make one: seven-division world champion Amanda Serrano, 15 days’ notice, no warm-up, no easing in. She went the distance. She lost on points. But she left the ring with something far more valuable than a padded record.
Respect.
Serrano called her a “warrior”. The boxing world took note. Tellez took stock.
“I believe in myself and I have a lot of heart. This is something I've always wanted to do, ever since I was a child,” she told Sky Sports, still sounding as much like the kid who fell in love with the sport as the professional now living it.
That night against Serrano didn’t just change how others saw her. It changed how she saw herself.
“Having somebody that I watched growing up and then having the opportunity to fight her, it meant so much to me,” she said. “And to make my family proud and to prove something to myself. So I took it considering the short time.
“I had a great outcome, even though it wasn't a win. I got a lot of things from that fight. Like I said, I'm grateful.”
A Career Re-Routed by One Risk
Tellez arrives in Birmingham this weekend with a 13-1-1 (5 KOs) record and a spot on a landmark card. She faces Jessica Barry on the undercard of Mikaela Mayer vs Chantelle Cameron at MVPW-06, a night that also marks the fifth anniversary of MVP’s promotional venture.
She was supposed to have boxed earlier in the year against Juliana Vanesa Basualdo on the Stephanie Han vs Holly Holm 2 card in May. That fight fell through. The Serrano fight, though, did not. And it has become the hinge on which her career has swung.
“The Serrano fight got me on a platform like I am today. For that, I'm extremely grateful,” she said.
“I feel like without that fight, I wouldn't be able to see the things that I need in my life and in my career to keep being successful and keep being Reina. It taught me a lot as a boxer and as a person.”
You can hear the shift in how she talks about herself. This is not a fighter simply happy to be here. This is someone who believes she has already turned a corner.
“I'm not the same fighter that I was when I fought Amanda Serrano, and even my fights before that, I feel like I've really evolved.
“So to see how much better I've got over the past couple of months and the changes that I've made that I can showcase in the ring, it means a lot to me. This fight means so much to me, my family and my team. So I'm grateful for it.”
Learning from a Legend
While Tellez prepares for Barry, Serrano continues to stack her own legacy. The Puerto Rican great recently secured the 50th win of her professional career, edging Lucrecia Manzur by majority decision to retain her WBA and WBO featherweight titles.
That fight streamed live on TikTok and drew 3.4 million views across the night, a reminder of Serrano’s drawing power and the shifting landscape of how boxing reaches its audience.
Tellez watches all of it with admiration, but also with the quiet knowledge that she shared a ring with that same force.
“You look at everything she has done, she's done a lot for the sport,” Tellez said. “She's a world champion for a reason. So you have to always give respect to her too.”
Respect, but not intimidation. Serrano may be the standard, but for Tellez, she has also become a reference point. A measuring stick. A moment in time that proved she belongs.
From Vero Beach to Texas Heat
The journey started far from big arenas and global streams. Tellez grew up in Vero Beach, Florida, a young girl glued to boxing on television and watching her uncle train at the local gym.
“I told them I wanted to box, and at first they didn't want to because I'm the only girl in the family,” she said.
They relented. They took her to the gym. She never really left.
“And then they took their chance on it, they took me to the gym and since then I've just been boxing.”
That decision eventually pulled her west to San Antonio, Texas, a state where boxing is not just a sport but a staple. She now trains and fights out of a region steeped in fight history, and this weekend she stands as one of two Texans on the card, alongside Miranda Reyes.
“Texas is big, boxing is huge in Texas, that's one of the main reasons I actually moved to Texas,” she explained.
“It's just crazy to see people that I've known since even as a kid be here. And I'm happy for everybody who comes from where I come from to be able to get the opportunity. So best of luck to Miranda and to me.”
The idea of a “Texas takeover” is put to her.
Her answer is instant.
“For sure.”
A Different Fighter, Same Fire
Saturday in Birmingham is not a world-title night for Reina Tellez. It is something subtler but just as important: proof of progress. A chance to show what those hard months after Serrano have actually built.
She has already gambled once and come away with more than a win could offer. Now she walks in with time to prepare, a full camp behind her, and a belief hardened by experience.
The question is no longer whether she belongs on this stage.
It’s how far, and how fast, she can climb from here.
