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MOST VALUABLE PROMOTIONS SIGNS AMATEUR STANDOUT AND TWO-TIME BRAZILIAN OLYMPIAN KENO MARLEY AHEAD OF PRO DEBUT
Marley becomes first Brazilian signee with MVP as company continues to identify and develop elite global boxing prospects
ATLANTA, GA – April 25, 2025 – Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today announced the signing of 24-year-old two-time Brazilian Olympian Keno Marley. Following a highly-decorated amateur career, Marley will make his professional debut under the Most Valuable Promotions banner in 2025 at 200lbs in the cruiserweight division as the company continues to reinforce its commitment to identifying and developing elite boxing prospects. Marley is the first Brazilian athlete and second Olympian to sign with MVP, following the company’s signing of two-time Canadian Olympian and amateur world champion Tamm Thibeault in December 2024.
Marley is the latest signee to the company amidst MVP’s dedicated roster expansion in the opening months of 2025, joining undisputed 130lb world champion Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner, English boxing phenom and unified 122lb super bantamweight world champion Ellie Scotney, Denmark’s unified 122lb bantamweight champion and Boxrec’s #1 pound-for-pound female boxer Dina Thorslund, IBF bantamweight world champion at 118lbs Shurretta Metcalf, Spain’s WBA Interim featherweight world champion at 126lbs Jennifer Miranda, Nigeria’s 126lb featherweight Elizabeth Oshoba, Somali-British boxer, activist, and high fashion model Ramla Ali, Costa Rica’s 20-year-old undefeated WBC Youth light flyweight world champion Naomy Valle, 15x US national amateur champion Nat “No Love”' Dove, and 2x US national champion and rising bantamweight star Alexander “Alley Cat” Gueche.
Keno Marley is a 24-year-old 6’3” boxer born in Sapeaçu, Bahia, Brazil. He first began boxing at age 11 before moving to São Paulo alone to pursue his boxing training at age 13, joining the Brazilian national team to launch a standout amateur career. He first made a name for himself at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, taking home the gold medal and becoming the first Brazilian boxer to achieve this feat. The next year, Marley earned silver at the 2019 Pan American championships. He earned a place on Brazil’s Olympic team, qualifying to compete in the men's light heavyweight event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and finishing as a quarter-finalist in a narrow 3-2 defeat to Britain’s Benjamin Whittaker, the eventual silver medalist. At the 2021 amateur world championships, Marley fought in the IBA cruiserweight division and earned the silver medal, before becoming the 2022 Brazilian national amateur champion. In 2023, Marley won the prestigious Strandja Tournament, the biggest championship on the European circuit, becoming the first Brazilian man to reach the final and win the title before winning silver at the 2023 Pan American Games. He continued his amateur sprint as he returned to represent Brazil again at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the men’s heavyweight division, once again reaching the quarter finals. Outside boxing, Marley faced two difficult losses in 2021, losing his older brother to murder and his cousin to suicide. He now actively serves as a third sergeant in the Brazilian Army, holds a university degree in physical education, and is currently completing a law degree. He trains out of the Brazilian Olympic Training Center and is co-managed by Brazil’s biggest influencer, multi-talented superstar Whindersson Nunes, who faced MVP’s Neeraj Goyat on the main card of MVP’s record-shattering Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson in November 2024. He currently resides in São Paulo, Brazil.
“Signing with MVP is an important step in making a dream come true,” said Keno Marley. “Now my focus is fully on making history and proving that Brazil has another boxing champion ready to take over the world.”
“Keno Marley is a world class talent that has the potential to be a global star in boxing, like Anderson Silva was in MMA,” said Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. “He’s already made history for Brazil, and now he’s ready to take over the pro ranks. Beyond his elite skillset and Olympic pedigree, Keno’s personal story is one of true perseverance—overcoming unimaginable loss, serving in the Brazilian Army, earning a degree in physical education, and currently pursuing a law degree, all while competing at the highest levels of amateur boxing. We’re proud to welcome him as our first Brazilian signee and look forward to promoting a live event in Brazil featuring him and Javon “Wanna” Walton in 2026.”
Marley joins MVP’s elite roster of athletes and up-and-coming talents including international superstar Jake “El Gallo” Paul, boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight world champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano, undisputed super featherweight world champion Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner, prolific top boxing prospect H2O Sylve, MVP’s first homegrown champion, the new WBO Super Middleweight Champion Shadasia “The Sweet Terminator” Green, reigning unified bantamweight world champion and Boxrec’s #1 pound-for-pound female boxer Dina Thorslund, English boxing phenom and unified 122lb super bantamweight world champion Ellie Scotney, IBF bantamweight world champion at 118lbs Shurretta Metcalf (14-4-1, 2 KOs), Spain’s WBA Interim featherweight world champion at 126lbs Jennifer Miranda (12-0, 1 KO), multi-talented megastar Javon “Wanna” Walton, India’s most successful professional boxer Neeraj Goyat, top-ranked lightweight “Prince” Lucas Bahdi, Puerto Rican sensation Krystal Rosado, three-time US national boxing champion and high-fashion model Alexis “Chop Chop” Chaparro, Puerto Rican National Team star Jan Paul Rivera, 2x Canadian Olympian and amateur world champion Tamm Thibeault, 2x US national amateur champion and rising bantamweight star Alexander “The Alley Cat” Gueche, Nigeria’s 126lb featherweight Elizabeth Oshoba (9-0, 5 KOs), the multi-talented Somali-British boxer, activist, and high fashion model Ramla Ali, Costa Rica’s 20-year-old undefeated WBC Youth light flyweight world champion Naomy Valle, and 15x US national amateur champion Nat “No Love”' Dove.
For more information, follow on X via @MostVPromotions, @JakePaul, and @keno_marley1 or on Instagram via @MostValuablePromotions, @JakePaul, and @@keno_marley1.
About MVP
MVP 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 have produced Jake Paul’s last six global pay-per-view events, including the recent Paul vs. Perry match. 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, earning a nomination for Event of The Year by Sports Business Journal. MVP made history again in November 2024 with Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2, the first-ever live professional sports event on Netflix. MVP’s Paul vs. Tyson streamed live globally on Netflix and shattered records, becoming the most-streamed sporting event ever with 108 million live viewers globally. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was an executive producer of Paul vs. Tyson and the historic Triller Presents Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which was the 8th most bought pay-per-view event in history.
