(August 28th) Red Owl Boxing announced five preliminary card bouts, including a highly-anticipated showdown between two undefeated, young Rio Grande Valley rivals – Manuel “MannyPac” Hernandez (5-0) and Angel Serrato (4-0, 1 KO) - for its ‘Boxfest XX’ championship event at Payne Arena in Hidalgo, Texas on Friday, Sept. 11.

The junior lightweight (130 pounds) matchup between the 19-year-old Hernandez of Mission and the 20-year-old Serrato of Weslaco represents a rare meeting between two highly touted, unbeaten fighters at such an early stage in their respective careers.

“What we have put together for fans is an exceptional matchup that the world of boxing is hardly ever treated to, between two young trailblazers at this early juncture of their careers.  It’s a look at the future and is bound to be an incredible fight,” said Red Owl Boxing CEO Greg Bloom.

The previously announced, 10-round main event will feature fast rising contender Giovanni Marquez (15-1, 8 KO’s) of Houston battle it out against hard-hitting Rowin Javier Sanchez (7-2-3, 5 KO’s), a native of San Felipe, Venezuela and resident of Prichard, Ala. with the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) North American Boxing Association (NABA) junior welterweight (140 pounds) silver championship on the line.

In co-main event action, 2020 Olympian Shakilya Ellis (1-0) of Lynn, Mass. will look for her second professional win against undefeated rising star Karen Chacon (3-0, 1 KO) of Bogotá, Colombia in a six-round featured featherweight (126 pounds) bout.

Priced from $35, tickets for “Red Owl Boxing Presents: Boxfest XX” are on sale at Ticketmaster.com and the Payne Arena box office.

The event’s main card will stream live on DAZN, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on September 11, and the preliminary fight card will begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Red Owl Boxing’s YouTube channel.

Red Owl Boxing has announced the complete six-bout main card for “Red Owl Boxing Presents: Boxfest XX,” set for Friday, September 11, at Payne Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, with the entire main card streaming live on DAZN beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

The event will be headlined by a newly elevated championship matchup between Houston’s Giovanni Marquez (15-1, 8 KOs) and Venezuela-born, Alabama-based Rowin Javier Sanchez (7-2-3, 5 KOs), while 2020 U.S. Olympian and 2022 world champion Rashida “Shakiyla” Ellis returns to the ring in a featured six-round featherweight contest against unbeaten Colombian prospect Karen Chacon (3-0, 1 KO). The event was originally announced with Marquez-Sanchez as a 10-round junior welterweight main event; it has now been elevated to a World Boxing Association (WBA) North American Boxing Association (NABA) Silver Championship bout. Red Owl Boxing previously announced Marquez’s exclusive multi-year promotional agreement in July, with Boxfest XX marking his first appearance under the new deal.

“With our championship main event, the fight between Shakilya Ellis and Karen Chacon and the rest of our main card, we are bringing an unprecedented amount of boxing talent to Payne Arena and Hidalgo and an event that boxing fans will not want to miss,” said Greg Bloom, CEO of Red Owl Boxing.

Marquez, 25, enters the championship main event as one of the most highly regarded young fighters on the Red Owl Boxing roster. A Houston native and the son of former world champion and Olympian Raul “El Diamante” Marquez, Giovanni has built his career under the guidance of his father, who serves as his trainer. A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Marquez turned professional after an accomplished amateur career and has continued to develop as a rising contender. He will be seeking his third consecutive victory when he faces Sanchez, having most recently stopped Ernest Bustos in the third round at 1:47 of their welterweight bout in Houston. Marquez’s Golden Gloves credentials and family pedigree have been documented since his amateur days, when he captured the 2021 National Golden Gloves championship.

Sanchez, 30, presents a dangerous test for Marquez and arrives in Hidalgo with momentum from the biggest victory of his professional career. A native of San Felipe, Venezuela, who now resides in Prichard, Alabama, Sanchez has remained unbeaten in his first three bouts in the United States. On April 18 in Hartford, Connecticut, he scored a third-round knockout at 2:54 over previously unbeaten Jacob “Lefty” Marrero, dropping Marrero and capturing the vacant WBC FECARBOX Lightweight Championship. The victory was officially recorded as a third-round KO at 2:54, and Sanchez entered that bout with a record of 6-2-3 and four knockouts.

The co-feature will showcase the professional return of Rashida Shakiyla Quante Ellis, better known in boxing as Shakiyla Ellis. The 31-year-old Lynn, Massachusetts native represented the United States at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and later reached the pinnacle of amateur boxing by winning the 60-kilogram lightweight gold medal at the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, defeating Brazilian star Beatriz Ferreira by a 3-2 split decision in the final. Ellis made her professional debut at Red Owl Boxing’s BoxFest XVI on October 10, 2025, defeating Mexico’s Maria “Polvorita” Salinas by unanimous decision over six rounds. Ellis is currently 1-0 as a professional and will compete at 126 pounds against Chacon.

Standing opposite Ellis will be Bogotá, Colombia’s Karen Chacon, a 22-year-old unbeaten prospect who enters the six-round featherweight bout with a 3-0 record, including one knockout. Chacon has been described as a four-time Colombian national champion and competed for Bogotá at the 2026 Copa America in Colombia. Official tournament records confirm her participation in the women’s 57-kilogram division, where she faced U.S. representative Deborah Grant on May 19. Chacon will now make her professional return against one of the most decorated amateur boxers in the women’s featherweight division.

Adding further experience and firepower to the main card will be an eight-round middleweight matchup between Nikoloz Sekhniashvili (11-2, 8 KOs) and Jerry “The Corpus Christi Kid” Belmontes (22-10, 7 KOs). Sekhniashvili, 32, was born in Gori, Georgia, and now resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As an amateur, he represented Georgia at the 2015 European Games, competing at 81 kilograms, and he enters Boxfest XX following a spectacular performance at BoxFest XIX on May 29, when he stopped Ukraine’s Ivan Dancha by knockout at 2:38 of the fifth round. Official Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission results confirm the fifth-round stoppage.

Belmontes, 37, is a veteran of the sport who will bring considerable experience into the matchup. The Corpus Christi native and former world-title challenger returned to action earlier this year following an extended absence and scored a second-round technical knockout of Ousmane Sylla at 2:59 on January 31 in Robstown, Texas. Belmontes entered that contest with a 21-10 record and improved to 22-10 with the victory, which was officially recorded as a second-round TKO.

The main card will also feature an intriguing cruiserweight matchup between unbeaten Rashon Sims (1-0, 1 KO) of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Brok Weaver (2-2) of McIntosh, Alabama. Sims will be looking to build on his perfect professional start, while Weaver will attempt to derail the young prospect and establish himself as a threat in the 195-pound division.

Tyler, Texas prospect Adrian Salazar (1-0) will also return to action, facing Patrick Quick (0-1) of Peoria, Arizona, in a welterweight contest scheduled for 147 pounds. Salazar enters the matchup seeking to remain unbeaten as he continues the early stages of his professional career, while Quick will be looking for his first professional victory.

Opening the six-bout main card will be a clash of unbeaten young fighters as Toledo, Ohio’s Ryan Williams (3-0, 3 KOs) faces Poteet, Texas’ Santiago Vasquez (4-0, 3 KOs). With seven combined professional victories and six knockouts between them, the matchup provides an explosive start to an evening built around emerging talent, established veterans and championship-level aspirations.

“Boxfest XX” will continue Red Owl Boxing’s growing presence on the DAZN platform and follows the promotion’s BoxFest XIX event in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Sekhniashvili recorded his fifth-round knockout of Dancha. Red Owl Boxing has increasingly used the BoxFest series to showcase developing contenders alongside established fighters and championship opportunities.

Tickets for “Red Owl Boxing Presents: Boxfest XX” are priced from $35 and are available through Ticketmaster and the Payne Arena box office. The preliminary portion of the card will be announced by Red Owl Boxing at a later date, while the six-bout main card will stream live on DAZN on Friday, September 11, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

ABOUT RED OWL BOXING: Red Owl Boxing is a professional boxing promotion dedicated to developing emerging talent and presenting competitive boxing events across the United States. Through its BoxFest series and live broadcasts on DAZN, Red Owl Boxing continues to provide a platform for rising prospects, contenders and championship-caliber fighters.