While his boxing career copes with uncertainties, as a promoter, Jake Paul has been surging ahead rapidly. Often credited with setting the model for the Netflix shows that many have started copying, the YouTuber-turned-fighter’s promotion, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), has been striking deals, drawing attention across the boxing world. Most recently, Paul and the team expanded beyond the United States with a landmark deal with Sky Sports, leading to an all-women’s card unfolding on April 5. The latest development shows MVP has now struck a multi-fight deal with ESPN, beginning with an event at Madison Square Garden.

“MVP X ESPN MULTI SHOW DEAL,” Darshan Desai, a well-known boxing reporter, shared on X. “Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions has struck a deal for multiple shows on ESPN beginning with an April 17 card at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, headlined by Alycia Baumgardner vs. Bo Mi Re Shin.”

Unsurprisingly, the reactions to the MVP–ESPN deal have been positive.

“So they moved their regular events from DAZN to ESPN…” wrote one user. “With the ‘PPV caliber’ events being placed on Netflix. Seems like a great deal.”

The report originally shared by veteran journalist Dan Rafael added that the fight would be Baumgardner’s defense of her unified super featherweight title. Against that backdrop, organizing back-to-back events within a month with two separate broadcast partners spread across two continents underscores Jake Paul and MVP’s lofty ambitions, notably at a time when some of the established legacy promoters find themselves struggling with broadcasting issues.

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“This event represents a major milestone for MVP as we bring our brand to the UK for the first time and do so with Sky Sports, with a card that reflects the scale, depth, and ambition of women’s boxing today,” MVP’s official statement read last month, speaking about the Sky Sports partnership. “In our double main event, Caroline Dubois vs. Terri Harper marks the long-anticipated unification between two of MVP’s elite British champions, while Ellie Scotney has the opportunity to make history and become the youngest undisputed champion the UK has ever seen.”

Notably, this comes just a year after ESPN ended its eight-year partnership with Top Rank, making MVP’s new deal with the network particularly intriguing. Latest reports reveal Bob Arum’s promotion, and the Disney-owned sports network re-entered discussions about a new deal. However, nothing appears certain for now.

Jake Paul and MVP expand their grip on boxing’s broadcast shake-up

Across the boxing broadcast market, the ongoing discussions between Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN, especially in light of the controversies surrounding the Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron Ennis fight, have dominated headlines for the past few weeks.

With the sport’s newest promotion – Zuffa Boxing, led by Dana White – kicking off the year’s campaign under a new Paramount+ deal, one positive development appears to be Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing extending its contract with DAZN.

Jake Paul and his team have acted while others are adjusting to the landscape.

Beyond the two boxing events in London and New York City, MVP is also planning a Netflix MMA event featuring the high-profile return of legend Ronda Rousey. She will face Gina Carano for a five-round fight at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

“MVP’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano…,” read the promotion’s latest Instagram post yesterday. “The first-ever MMA event live globally on Netflix.”