As Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) approaches its fifth anniversary on August 29, the company is shedding its early reputation as a mere novelty act and cementing its status as a major force in the sport. Founded in the wake of the pandemic era, the promotional banner’s journey has been unconventional, blending internet celebrity culture with elite combat sports. However, the promotion’s latest milestone card reveals a strategic evolution that may well define its long-term future in professional boxing.
When MVP staged its inaugural event in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 29, 2021, the headline bout featured co-founder and online influencer Jake Paul taking on former MMA champion Tyron Woodley. Less than four months later, the promotion doubled down on the matchup with a high-profile rematch in Tampa, Florida. For a long time, the promotional outfit’s most visible signature events relied heavily on Paul, widely regarded as the face of YouTuber boxing, culminating in a heavily publicized bout against heavyweight legend Mike Tyson at a stage in the former champion’s career when his prime years were a distant memory.
These high-profile, pop-culture-infused fight cards initially earned MVP a reputation for staging spectacles that many traditional boxing purists considered anathema to the sport’s traditions. Yet, the upcoming five-year anniversary card highlights an entirely different dimension of the organization—one that has grown organically alongside its flashier elements. The weekend’s marquee lineup provides a far more accurate barometer of the promotion’s trajectory than the influencer grudge matches that dominated its early headlines.
A Landmark Card for Women’s Boxing
The upcoming main card features an all-female lineup of five high-stakes bouts, anchored by a unification clash between Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron for the WBA, WBC, and WBO light-middleweight titles. In the primary support slot, Caroline Dubois will defend her WBC and WBO lightweight championships against Amelia Moore.
Long dismissed by skeptics as a snot-nosed upstart operation, MVP has rapidly evolved into a major player and arguably the primary UK promoter of women’s boxing.
"Respect, I think, is the biggest change. I’ve seen and felt it," Dubois told BBC Sport, reflecting on the shifting perception of female fighters within the combat sports landscape. "I remember coming into the scene of the sporting world and if you say you’re a female boxer, people will look at you like ‘ah’—but now people are like ‘OK, let’s see you fight’—it’s not a joke, a gimmick, a side caricature. It’s part of the real deal."
The institutional shift has attracted elite talent from rival stables. Fellow Briton Chantelle Cameron left promoter Queensberry to sign with MVP last year. Cameron’s journey over the past twelve months underscores the rapid momentum the promotional company has injected into her career. Her WBC interim title fight against Patricia Berghult in November 2024 served as a co-main event at Birmingham’s BP Pulse Arena. Just eight months later, Cameron traveled across the Atlantic to face Jessica Camara at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
Now, she returns to the BP Pulse Arena on Saturday, headlining a card for the first time since her historic 2023 double-header against Irish superstar Katie Taylor.
"MVP are taking over women’s boxing," Cameron told BBC Sport. "They’ve been amazing. Everything they’ve said they’ll do, they’ve done. They got me my world title shot. They got me my Mayer fight. It’s all been so quick—it’s just my third fight with them."
Before joining Queensberry, Cameron was promoted by Matchroom, a tenure highlighted by her monumental first victory over Katie Taylor before Taylor avenged the loss in an immediate rematch.
"The Katie Taylor fights were great fights and both will always go down in history," Cameron reflected. "But it dipped. I lost momentum. Went on the shelf. I couldn’t get the names, couldn’t get the fights, nobody wanted to fight me. I wanted the fights, but they just weren’t happening."
Cultivating Elite Talent and Persona
Cameron, Dubois, Mayer, and Terri Harper represent only a fraction of the elite women’s boxing talent currently signed to the MVP roster. The promotional stable also features Amanda Serrano, Alycia Baumgardner, and former undisputed super-bantamweight champion Ellie Scotney.
The question remains: why has MVP become the definitive destination for top-tier female boxing talent?
For Dubois, the partnership has allowed her to cultivate a brash, commercially viable persona that extends far beyond her technical prowess inside the ring. Prior to her previous outing, she engaged in a fiery verbal sparring session and face-off after publicly calling out Terri Harper. While some traditionalists might view such theatrics as tacky, the strategy successfully propelled Dubois from headlining cards at the modest Park Community Arena in Sheffield to performing on major international stages in Miami and London’s Olympia.
"They’ve helped me get to that next level," Dubois said. "I want to be involved in the best, the biggest and the most important fights in boxing."
Crucially, Dubois credits the promotion’s unique leadership structure for helping her understand the business of promotion and self-marketing.
"Jake [Paul] brings the social influencer dynamic. He gave me tips and pointers and how I should build these fights," she explained. "We’re entertainers, that’s what we are. It’s always good to get that insight from someone who is technically outside of the sport. He has that fresh mindset. MVP have that on lock."
While Dubois defends her titles on Saturday, Terri Harper—who dropped a points decision to Dubois in April—will look to begin her career rebuild earlier on the card against Miranda Reyes. Harper admitted she seriously considered retirement following a 2024 loss to Sandy Ryan, but her defeat to Dubois sparked no such thoughts of walking away.
"I’m nearly 30 now and I now really want to enjoy it," Harper told BBC Sport. "It’s my last roll of the dice to see how far I can push to become a four-weight world champion. MVP have delivered the fights I want, and a greater audience."
Balancing Spectacle and Serious Sport
Despite its newfound commitment to elite championship boxing, MVP continues to leverage its digital and influencer roots. Recent promotional pushes have included high-profile digital integrations, such as an ‘MVP x TikTok Live’ event starring Amanda Serrano, demonstrating the company’s dual approach to sports entertainment.
For the promotion to sustain its upward trajectory, the combination of grand arena spectacles and elite athletic competition must remain at the forefront.
"I remember my first amateur fight in Camden, or walking into the gym when I was nine years old at Repton," Dubois noted. "Now I’m fighting there and I’m talking about headlining and talking about fighting on Netflix."
If an organization led by Jake Paul excels at anything, it is generating conversation and delivering spectacle. Yet, for veteran competitors like Cameron and Mayer, the partnership offers a genuine vehicle to effect structural change within women’s sports.
"I’m an advocate for three-minute rounds," Cameron said. "We’ve got a long way to go, but if more women started doing what the men do, we can start saying they give us the opportunity for equality for women’s boxing."
Fighters like Cameron and Mayer possess institutional memories that stretch far beyond the founding of MVP. They lived through the decades of systemic neglect that characterized women’s boxing and understand the long road still ahead.
"In order for a sport to develop, they need to compete and women are a step behind because we weren’t allowed to even compete in the Olympics until 2012," Mayer pointed out. "It’s not going to happen overnight, but this is what we needed to take women’s boxing to the next step."
