Most Valuable Promotions, the company co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021, announced a multi-year broadcast agreement with ESPN in the United States Friday.
Alongside the media rights deal, MVP confirmed the launch of an official women's boxing league, MVPW, which boasts 43 fighters. ESPN will be the home of MVPW events through 2028.
Said Paul and Bidarian:
"Since inception MVP has strategically focused on creating an umbrella brand as the global home for women’s boxing, with the best fighters in the world, that engages existing boxing fans and attracts untapped fan demographics that embrace women’s sport, and today, we proudly enter a new era."
"Over the past five years, we have invested heavily in female athletes, delivered historic and record-breaking events, and proven that these athletes belong on the biggest stages in the sport. Partnering with ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, to launch MVPW across its platforms is a historic milestone, and aligning with the world’s most iconic venue, Madison Square Garden, as we introduce the brand in the U.S. reinforces the scale and ambition behind what we are building.
The first of these events, MVPW-01, takes place on April 5 in London, England and is headlined by a Caroline Dubios vs. Terri Harper lightweight unification bout. That event also airs on Sky Sports in the UK, which is understood to be another longterm media rights partner MVP is expected to confirm.
MVPW will debut in the United States on April 17 with MVPW-02, which is headlined by the unified super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner taking on Bo Mi Re Shin at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theatre. The third event in the league will see Stephanie Han defend her WBA lightweight title in a rematch against Holly Holm on May 30 in El Paso, Texas.
It is a major deal for MVP and women's boxing. At a time when major U.S. promoters — namely Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions — are without TV deals, and Dana White's Zuffa Boxing is making an aggressive play into the sport, MVP has solidified its position as the home of women's boxing and owns deals with the biggest networks in the US and the UK to showcase its events.
Leave a Reply