Red Owl Boxing is putting a women's world-ranked title fight in the ring at the El Paso County Coliseum for the first time, with undefeated 41-year-old Melanie Timko of Omaha, Nebraska squaring off against Mexican contender Naomy “Kusa” Cardenas on Friday, October 2 at 8 p.m. MT. The card, dubbed Red Owl Boxing Presents BoxFest XXI, will be staged at the Coliseum's address on East Paisano Drive, with tickets on sale through Ticketmaster.com.
The eight-round main event, Timko's first fight at that distance, is for the vacant WBA NABA women's super flyweight title, according to KTSM 9 News. Timko brings a 5-0 record into the bout, having gone six rounds in each of her last two fights, while Cardenas, 27, enters at 10-2 with two knockouts. Cardenas, from Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a former world championship challenger currently ranked 14th in the world by the International Boxing Federation, per the same report.
Red Owl Boxing CEO Greg Bloom said the promotion is putting a women's title fight on its card for the first time in company history, the station reports. Bloom also said El Paso was chosen for the return date because the city proved to be a great fight town during the promotion's previous month's event there — a reference to BoxFest XIX, which Red Owl staged at the same Coliseum on August 7, headlined by Emanuel “El Trompo” Moreno defending his WBA Continental Americas Bantamweight Championship against Guillermo Gutierrez, according to Red Owl Boxing.
A Title With Built-In World Ranking Stakes
The vacant belt carries more than bragging rights. Under the sanctioning rules of the North American Boxing Association, a regional affiliate of the WBA established in 1997, winning a NABA title automatically earns a fighter a top-15 world ranking in the WBA's official standings, per BoxRec. That gives Timko and Cardenas tangible sporting incentive beyond the belt itself heading into their fight in the borderland.
Cardenas already knows what it's like to fight for a world championship. Before this bout, the Chihuahua native made her career debut on August 15, 2025, then challenged undefeated WBO world super flyweight champion Mizuki Hiruta — the defending champion that night — at Chumash Casino in California, losing a 10-round unanimous decision scored 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92, according to BoxingScene. Hiruta went on to win the 2025 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year award, per the KTSM report.
Co-Main Event Pits Unbeaten Brown Against Venezuelan Veteran
The co-main event features unbeaten Deonte “Lay 'em Down” Brown, 30, of Morgan City, Louisiana, taking on 34-year-old Leonardo Padilla of Petare, Venezuela. Brown enters at 18-0 with 11 knockouts and will appear in the Red Owl ring for the second time in 2026, having defeated Yohan “La Fiera” Vasquez by unanimous decision on May 29. Padilla, who holds a 25-7-1 record with 17 knockouts, defeated Manuel Correa by unanimous decision on May 16, according to the KTSM report.
Brown already carries hardware into the fight. He captured the WBA Continental Americas Super Featherweight Championship on October 10, 2025, defeating Venezuela's Grimardi Machuca via 10-round unanimous decision at BoxFest XVI in Commerce, California, according to FIGHTMAG. Red Owl officials said additional fights for the October 2 card will be announced soon, the station notes.
El Paso's Growing Reputation for Women's Championship Boxing
BoxFest XXI is not the first time El Paso has hosted major women's title boxing. Local fighter Stephanie Han captured the WBA Lightweight World Championship at the El Paso County Coliseum with a first-round knockout on February 22, 2025, and defended the belt at the same venue against Holly Holm on May 30, drawing record-breaking local crowds, according to Hoodline's earlier coverage of Han's title win.
The Coliseum itself has a long history as a regional event hub. Dedicated in May 1942 as a $321,000 livestock and rodeo venue, the 6,500-seat arena is owned by El Paso County and has been operated under contract by the nonprofit El Paso Sports Commission since 2003, hosting everything from combat sports to community card shows.
BoxFest XXI also fits into Red Owl Boxing's broader identity as a company. The promotion organizes its event series around three fighter progression themes — Debut, Redemption, and Crowning — and broadcasts its cards live on DAZN to 197 countries and an estimated 150 million homes worldwide, according to Red Owl Boxing. That international footprint dovetails with the company's rapid growth in Texas, where it announced plans in April to build a 25,000-square-foot, 3,000-seat arena called The Owl's Nest in North Houston, set to open in 2027 and host 21 televised DAZN events through 2028.
