By: Hans Themistode
Jake Paul isn’t just making his mark in the boxing world by stepping into the ring. He’s now doing so on the business end of things as well.
Earlier this year, the social media star and Nakisha Bidarian, Paul’s advisor, founded Most Valuable Promotions. With their first big move, Paul and his promotional company has inked former nine-time women’s champion, Amanda Serrano. Paul’s announcement may have come as a surprise to the boxing world but after building a close connection with Serrano, Paul believes it was an easy decision.
“She’s always been super cool,” said Paul to ESPN. “I feel like we’re very similar in many ways. I have to vibe with someone to work with them. We’re like a family at the end of the day with MVP.”
Aside from Serrano’s effervescent personality, the 32-year-old is considered one of the best fighters in the world. Currently, Serrano’s numerous world titles, which are spread across seven different weight classes, represent a world record in women’s boxing.
As Paul took a deep dive into Serrano’s overall skills and accomplishments, not only does he believe that the 32-year-old deserves a spot on his promotional roster but he’s also fully convinced that this is just the first step towards her superstardom.
“When you go to the statistics, Amanda being the number one pound for pound boxer and greatest Hispanic female athlete of all time. It’s a no-brainer. She’s gotten this far with just her skills and not really much help. She hasn’t had someone with a big platform to really put her on. She’s so marketable and really, the sky is the limit.”
In Serrano’s most recent trip to the ring, she easily retained her WBC, WBO, and IBO featherweight titles against Yamileth Mercado. Their contest took place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, in Cleveland, Ohio on August 29th, and served as the co-main event to Jake Paul’s showdown against former UFC star, Tyron Woodley, a contest Paul would ultimately win.
Following the lopsided victory, Serrano pocketed $75,000 for her efforts. Paul, however, later revealed that he would be giving Serrano $500,000 of his own money to add to her purse. Serrano though, claims that she hasn’t received the full bonus payment.
Regardless of the financial disagreement, Serrano has decided to allow Paul to guide the latter stages of her career. With one of the most recognizable figures in all of women’s boxing now fully a part of his stable, Paul is now convinced that he is ushering in an entirely new wave of how to handle the business side of boxing.
“There’s a new era of boxing and there’s a new way of promoting these fights and there’s a new way of to become a big fighter. She already has the skills and now we’re going to add our secret sauce to the equation. I see a massive, massive future for her.”