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MOST VALUABLE PROMOTIONS ASSEMBLES STAR STUDDED BROADCAST TEAM AND UNDERCARD FOR MOST VALUABLE PROSPECTS INAUGURAL EVENT ON FRIDAY, MAY 26
Kevin Brown vs. Julian Smith Announced as Co-Main Event for WBA Super Lightweight Continental Americas Title
Paul Malignaggi, Dan Canobbio, and Wade Plemons Among Broadcast Team to Commentate Event
YouTube MC Phenomenon Akinola Verissimo to Announce Full Card of Events Which will Air Live on DAZN
NEW YORK, NY – May 15, 2023 – Today, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced Most Valuable Prospects’ full fight card and star-studded broadcast team for its inaugural event on Friday, May 26th in Orlando, Florida. In the main event, lightweights Ashton “H20” Sylve (8-0, 8 KOs) and Angel Rebollar (6-2, 3 KOs) will face off alongside the newly announced co-main event featuring Kevin Hayler Brown vs. Julian Smith at the Caribe Royale Resort. Brown and Smith will go head-to-head in a 10-round fight contested at 140 lbs. for the WBA Super Lightweight Continental Americas Title.
Produced and promoted by MVP, with Boxlab Promotions serving as the official licensed promoter and distributed by DAZN, Most Valuable Prospects will hold four Friday night events in 2023. The Caribe Royale Resort will be the series’ official title sponsor and host for each event, while DAZN will air Most Valuable Prospects across its platforms as a part of its subscription package. MVP’s co-founder Jake Paul and world-renowned undisputed featherweight world champion Amanda Serrano will be in attendance for the inaugural event. Tickets are now on sale at https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/22005E9AD958CFC5
Providing the crucial play by play for the event will be famed YouTube boxing commentator Wade Plemons alongside co-commentator and Jomboy Media personality Dan Canobbio, current co-host of Inside Boxing Live alongside Chris Algieri. Spearheading the hard-hitting analysis for fans will be retired two-weight-class world champion Paul Malignaggi, one of the most respected on-air analysts in all of boxing, while 2023 NFL Pro Bowl host Sibley Scoles will serve as the ringside reporter, delivering interviews and post-fight discussions bringing the fighters’ unfiltered reactions straight to fans. The in-ring announcer will be YouTube boxing and Esports MC Akinola Verissimo who will announce the main and co-main events, along with the undercard matches.
“We’re thrilled to finally bring fans a series that highlights the future of boxing. Our inaugural event is sure to deliver a night full of high energy matchups and we are incredibly thankful to our broadcast talent for joining us on Friday, May 26th,” said Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. “Ashton Sylve, is just 19 and has been a star since we first signed him to MVP last year. We look forward to watching as he spearheads this new series alongside so many other young fighters. Thank you to the Caribe Royale Resort and the city of Orlando for hosting Most Valuable Prospects, and to our distribution partner DAZN for its commitment to delivering high quality events to global audiences.”
“On behalf of the Caribe Royale Resort we’re excited to bring this new series to Orlando,” said Amaury Piedra of Boxlab Promotions. “Caribe Royale is the premier all-suite resort in Orlando and this is another way of bringing entertainment via world class boxing featuring the future of boxing to the guests of the resort and locals as well. Between the combined teams and talent of MVP and Boxlab Promotions we expect this event to just be the first of what will be an exciting series for years to come.”
Viewers at home will see four fights total on the 26th, with some of the world’s hottest boxing prospects ready to make a name for themselves. The co-main event features a 10-round, WBA Super Lightweight Continental Americas title match as ex-Cuban national boxing team fighter Kevin Hayler Brown (2-0, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, NV by way of Camaguey, Cuba takes on boxing phenomenon Julian “Quiet Storm” Smith (6-1, 4 KOs) of Country Club Hills, Illinois. Smith, who is deaf, is a Chicago Golden Gloves champion and will be taking on his third consecutive undefeated opponent.
Next on the card is a heavyweight battle between two undefeated warriors as Lorenzo "Giant Killer" Medina (6-0, 6 KOs) will take on Andrey Mangushev (7-0, 5 KOs) in a 6 round heavyweight matchup. Medina, 18, is from Hialeah, Florida and was the 2021 USA Youth National Champion at Super Heavyweight. At 6’2 he is considered a small heavyweight and is taking a major step up in competition vs the dangerous 6'7” Mangushev. Mangushev who hails from Miami by way of Moscow, Russia holds a win over former world champion Alejandro Berrio.
The broadcast opener will feature two-time national amateur champion Jamar Pemberton (4-0, 4 KOs), from Las Vegas by way of St. Louis, MO, who will open the evening in a four-round middleweight matchup against a TBD opponent. Pemberton, a 6’3 southpaw has served as a sparring partner for Brian Mendoza in preparation for his upset KO victory over Sebastian Fundora and is well known for his devastating knockout power.
The fans in attendance at Caribe Royale Resort will also be treated to five additional bouts featuring Tayree Jones (9-0, 6 KOs), Ramiro De Jesus (3-0, 2 KOs) and Omar Rosales (2-0, 2 KOs), alongside Antraveous Ingram (4-0 2KOs) and Giovanni Louis, who is both making his professional debut.
For more information, follow on Twitter via @JakePaul, @MostVPromotions, @DAZNBoxing, @Boxlab_AP, and @cariberoyale or on Instagram via @JakePaul, @MostValuablePromotions, @DAZNBoxing, and @cariberoyaleorlando.
About Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)
Most Valuable Promotions was founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021. With the mission to provide more creative control to fighters, MVP works to identify, grow, and maximize return for its own events and talent partners. One year into its inception, MVP was nominated as one of the prestigious Sports Breakthroughs of the Year in 2022 by Sports Business Journal. MVP has produced Jake Paul’s last four global pay-per-view events, including the recent Paul vs. Fury match, which surpassed 800,000 Pay-per-view buys worldwide. The promotion company also signed one of the most decorated Hispanic athletes of all time, Amanda Serrano in its first year. Serrano and MVP made history in April of 2022 when Serrano went head-to-head with Katie Taylor, marking the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden, recently earning a nomination for Event of The Year by Sports Business Journal. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was an executive producer of the historic Triller Presents Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which was the 8th most bought pay-per-view event in history.
About DAZN
DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US, and the UK.? Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.?
DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match through the NFL Game Pass International add-on subscription. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League, and a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.? DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.?
DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialize, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.?
DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalog and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony, and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including PlayStation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, and Apple TV and can find the app on their iPhone, iPad, and android mobile devices. DAZN is available as an Amazon Channel on Amazon Prime TV and can be viewed on Channel 429 on Sky in the UK and Ireland.
DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries. For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit?www.dazngroup.com.??
About Caribe Royale Orlando Resort
Located just minutes from the Walt Disney World® Resort in the nation’s number one convention and tourist destination, Caribe Royale Orlando is the only AAA Four Diamond all-suite meetings resort in Orlando. A TripAdvisor 2022 Travelers’ Choice Award winner – among just 10 percent of hotels worldwide to receive the distinction – the upscale Caribe Royale is emerging from a $140 million renovation that includes fully remodeling all of its one-bedroom suites, an all-new 50,000-square-foot grand ballroom (bringing the total meeting space to 220,000 square feet), and an inviting new lobby. Being privately-owned, Caribe Royale offers meeting planners faster approval cycles and more flexibility to create stand-out events. To learn more or to book a visit, event or meeting, visit www.cariberoyale.com. Follow the all-suite convention hotel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (@cariberoyale), LinkedIn and Pinterest. #cariberoyaleorlando
