Ashton “H2O” Sylve hopes to one day conquer the lightweight division.

In the meantime, an impressive win in his next fight could solidify his standing as one to watch at 135 pounds.

Sylve will face Estivan Falcao on February 2, Most Valuable Promotions announced Tuesday afternoon. The 10-round bout will take place at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida and will headline the Most Valuable Prospects V card that will stream live on DAZN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

“In May of 2023, I headlined MVP’s very first Most Valuable Prospects’ event, and now I’m (doing it again) less than a year later,” said Sylve. “It’s an honor to come back to Orlando and represent the series for a second time.

“Most Valuable Prospects has provided so many fighters – myself included – with a platform and opportunity in this sport and I’m looking forward to headlining for a second time.”

Sylve (10-0, 9 knockouts), who resides in Long Beach, California, defeated late-sub Adam Kapinga over eight one-sided rounds on that May 26 Most Valuable Prospects card. In his last bout on August 5, which took place on the undercard of the Jake Paul-Nate Diaz fight, Sylve knocked out former fringe contender William Silva in the fourth round.

The 19-year-old notched knockout victories over Giovanni Gutierrez and Braulio Rodriguez in 2022.

Sylve made his pro debut at the age of 16 in October 2020. His first five bouts took place across the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana.

Falcao (13-2, 7 KOs), who resides in Guarulhos, Brazil, was victorious in his last bout on August 4, defeating once-beaten James Bernadin by unanimous decision. In his previous fight on May 20, Falcao stopped Djamel Dahon in the fifth round.

The 27-year-old notched victories over Bernadin and Dahon after back-to-back defeats to Nahir Albright and Jeremy Hill.

In the co-feature, unbeaten junior welterweight Orestes Velazquez will square off against Julian Smith in a 10-round bout.

Velazquez (8-0, 7 KOs), who is originally from Cuba and now lives and trains in Miami, Florida, stopped once-beaten Mohamed Soumaoro in the eighth round of his last bout on September 23. In his previous fight on March 25, Velazquez defeated former fringe contender Marcelino Lopez by unanimous decision.

The 30-year-old is promoted by Shane Shapiro.

Smith (7-2, 4 KOs) won by majority decision over Julio Rosa in his last bout on August 18. The 33-year-old, who resides in Country Club Hills, Illinois, previously faced unbeaten prospect Kevin Hayler Brown on May 26, losing by unanimous decision.

In a clash of unbeaten lightweights, Benigno Aguilar (11-0, 4 KOs) of Crescent City, Florida will face Corey Marksman (8-0, 6 KOs) of Deltona, Florida in a six-round bout.

Former world title challenger Maricela Cornejo (17-6, 7 KOs) of Los Angeles will square off against Calgary’s Kandi Wyatt (11-5, 3 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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