Latest news with #JakePaul
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Former party girl Shannon Courtenay signs with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions as former world champion joins star-studded female roster aiming to revolutionise women's boxing
Former world bantamweight champion Shannon Courtenay has officially signed with Jake Paul 's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), joining its rapidly expanding roster of female talent. Backed by the sport's most talked-about disruptor, Courtenay is aiming to climb back to world champion status at a time when women's boxing is bigger, bolder, and more visible than ever. The 31-year-old fighter from Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire is one of many marquee names to sign with the promotional outfit that is quickly rewriting the destiny of women's boxing. Courtenay, who famously won the WBA bantamweight title in 2021 in a barnstorming battle against Australia's Ebanie Bridges, is aiming to become a two-time world champion. With MVP's backing - from unrivalled media reach to blockbuster events and a platform few female fighters have ever been afforded - it may not be a matter of if, but when. 'My main focus is becoming a two-time world champion and with the backing of MVP I know I can go on to winning more titles,' Courtenay said in a statement released today. 'Women's boxing was beginning to get forgotten about again, but then MVP have come along, ripped up the script, and made it bigger than ever. I can't wait to get amongst it!' The move comes amid a resurgence in women's boxing, with MVP - co-founded by Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul - leading the charge. The promotion's recent Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3 blockbuster at Madison Square Garden made history as the first all-women's card at the venue, earning a Guinness World Record title for most world championship belts contested on a single fight card. With over 4.2million U.S. viewers (Live +1) and a $2.63 million gate, the historic event became the most-watched women's professional sports event of the year. Speaking about their latest signings, Paul and Bidarian said: 'Women's boxing has never been stronger globally and today's signings further cement MVP's commitment to continuing to invest and elevate the sport like no boxing promotional brand has before. 'Shannon, Desley, Jasmine, Sa'Rai, and Yesica represent five powerful stories, four countries with proud boxing legacy, and one shared mission: to compete and win at the highest level. 'The UK has the best concentration of elite female boxers in the world, and MVP is strategically focused on building out a robust British roster that will allow us to bring MVP events to the market. Shannon joins Ellie Scotney, Chantelle Cameron, Savannah Marshall and Ramla Ali, who are all power players in women's boxing.' Courtenay's career since her title-winning night has seen both highs and setbacks. After losing the belt on the scales in October 2021 due to a missed weight - later attributed to an unanticipated menstrual cycle - she dropped a majority decision to Jamie Mitchell in a valiant attempt to reclaim the vacant title. After a lengthy layoff and injuries, Courtenay returned to action in late 2024, narrowly losing a competitive six-round contest to Catherine Tacone Ramos. Her journey from party lifestyle to global stage embodies the kind of drive MVP thrives on Joining MVP signals more than just a promotional switch, it's a strategic alignment with a company known for transforming fighters into stars and building mega-events around elite talent. Courtenay will now compete alongside a growing stable of decorated women's champions, including Australia's unified middleweight titleholder Desley 'Destroyer' Robinson (10-3, 3 KOs), unbeaten WBA super flyweight queen Jasmine 'Animal' Artiga (13-0-1, 6 KOs), 19-time US national champion Sa'Rai El-Brown, and Mexico's former unified light flyweight champion Yesica Nery Plata (30‑2, 3 KOs). For MVP, Courtenay represents not only a former world champion with unfinished business but a compelling personality capable of capturing audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Her journey from party lifestyle to global stage embodies the kind of redemption and drive MVP thrives on and may well propel her back to the top of the bantamweight division. With momentum building and a world-class platform now behind her, Shannon Courtenay's comeback story is poised to enter its most thrilling chapter yet.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Aussie mum-of-three and unified middleweight champion Desley 'Destroyer' Robinson becomes latest elite fighter to sign with Jake Paul's MVP
Unified middleweight world champion Desley 'Destroyer' Robinson has officially signed with Jake Paul 's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), joining the likes of Shannon Courtenay, Jasmine Artiga, and Sa'Rai Brown-El in what is rapidly becoming the most elite female roster in professional boxing. Robinson, a proud single mother of three from Logan City, Queensland, holds both the IBF and WBO middleweight world titles at 160lbs after a remarkable 12 months that saw her rise from near-obscurity to championship glory. 'I love what Jake Paul, Nakisa Bidarian and the MVP team are doing for female boxing and I am so thankful that I will now be a part of that,' Robinson said following the announcement. 'MVP have signed some of the best female fighters of my generation, and to now be included in this is an amazing feeling. It is a privilege to have this opportunity and I can't wait to get over there and show the team what I have.' While Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions, said: 'Women's boxing has never been stronger globally and today's signings further cement MVP's commitment to continuing to invest and elevate the sport like no boxing promotional brand has before. 'Desley, Jasmine, Yesica, Sa'Rai, and Shannon represent five powerful stories, four countries with proud boxing legacy, and one shared mission: to compete and win at the highest level. 'Signing a world champion like Desley Robinson, who is also a mother of three, is another important step for MVP's strategic focus on Australia and New Zealand and she joins our newly crowned Aussie and Kiwi undisputed champion Cherneka 'Sugar Neekz' Johnson and the soon-to-return Ebanie Bridges.' Robinson, known for her aggressive style and granite resolve, only stepped into a boxing gym to improve her fitness. But after over 50 amateur bouts and multiple Queensland and Australian titles, it became clear that Robinson had the heart - and hands - of a champion. After turning professional in 2019, Robinson racked up wins quickly and earned a title shot in just her seventh fight. Though she lost a close majority decision to New Zealand's Lani Daniels in December 2023, she bounced back in extraordinary fashion just a year later - fighting through a fractured foot - to claim the vacant IBF title with a gritty points win over fellow Aussie Kaye Scott. Only four months later, she returned to the ring and dominated Chloe Chaos to unify the division, winning the vacant WBO title with a masterful display of pace, poise and power. At 37, she now stands as the unified world champion at 160lbs and has finally earned her shot on the world's biggest stages. That global platform is exactly what MVP has made its trademark. Founded in 2021 by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, MVP has emerged as one of the sport's most influential and disruptive promotions. Its female-first ethos has turned heads and shattered records - none more so than the historic Taylor vs Serrano III card at Madison Square Garden, which became the most-watched professional women's sports event of the year. The Netflix-televised blockbuster saw 17 championship belts being contested on a single card and generated a sold-out gate of $2.63million - the highest for a women's sporting event in MSG history. Paul's promotional juggernaut also made Amanda Serrano the highest-paid female athlete in combat sports history that night, while broadcasting to more than 6m global viewers. Joining her in the MVP stable is former WBA bantamweight world champion Shannon Courtenay, who recently signed with the promotional outfit as part of her comeback campaign. Also on board is Jasmine 'Animal' Artiga, the undefeated WBA super flyweight world champion from Tampa who rose from the Legends Football League to boxing royalty, and Yesica Nery Plata, Mexico's former unified light flyweight champion. The 19-year-old phenom, Sa'Rai Brown-El, who is a 19-time US national champion and USA Boxing standout, is representing the next generation of stars now being brought into the spotlight. Paul and Bidarian's approach has been simple but seismic: create premium platforms, demand equal pay and exposure for female athletes, and showcase women's boxing with the production values and storytelling it has long deserved. It's a strategy that has shaken the boxing world and made MVP the go-to destination for elite women's fighters looking for more than just fights, but real careers. With her championship pedigree, inspirational backstory and all-action style, Desley Robinson now has the opportunity to take her talents from Australia to the global stage - backed by one of the most powerful forces in modern boxing. And for MVP, it's yet another step in their unapologetic mission to change the face of the sport one fighter, one title, one sold-out arena at a time.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
‘Nobody will dare tell him' – Ex-world champ Johnny Nelson reveals biggest problem in Anthony Joshua's career
JOHNNY NELSON has revealed what he believes is the biggest problem in Anthony Joshua's career. AJ is one of the nation's biggest superstars but ex-cruiserweight world champion Nelson fears it could be at his detriment. 3 He told The Mirror, courtesy of "It's very hard to have people around you that'll tell you how it is. "You're going to have people around you that want to stay in your employment, stay in that circle. "So they're going to tell you stuff that you want to hear. "They're not going to tell you, 'You need to be doing this, you need to get a hand up, you're getting hit, you're getting beat up by this guy here. Why are you doing that? Why aren't you running this time? Why are you going to open that crisp packet when you should be in the gym?' "Nobody on his squad are going to dare tell him that with any conviction. "And so now all of a sudden the roles have changed, whereas when you're hungry, and you need it, they want to drag you up. "Now he's the boss. They work for him. And so that's where the problem is. "And I think that along with time, along with age, along with experience, along with appetite, once they get out of kilter [it's over]. AJ's in that position." Joshua, 35, has been out of the ring since September when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois, 27. He has since undergone elbow surgery and looks to be targeting a return before the end of the year. And Joshua has recently been in shock talks to fight YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul, 28 after being called out. 3
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
‘I'm not joking' – Boxing champion sensationally backs Jake Paul to KO heavyweight star Anthony Joshua
JAKE PAUL has sensationally been backed to knock out Anthony Joshua by a boxing world champion. The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter audaciously called out two-time heavyweight champ AJ earlier in the year on his podcast. 5 5 It sparked a behind-the-scenes back and forth which has since escalated to genuine talks between the two camps to make the fight happen. But the likes of Derek Chisora have pleaded with Paul to think twice about seriously facing 6f6 6in and 18 STONE Joshua. WBA welterweight world champ Rolly Romero on the other hand has actually backed Paul to somehow beat AJ. Romero, 29, told Boxing Social: I think they should fight. 'I got Jake Paul. I got Jake Paul. I'm not even joking, I got Jake Paul. Knockout. "I'm telling you, straight up, I'm not messing around Jake Paul for real." Paul is 12-1 in his career with his lone loss in the ring coming against Tommy Fury in 2023. And Fury's brother Tyson unsurprisingly threw a dig Joshua's way by joining Romero in predicting a Paul KO. He told Ring Magazine: "I just think Jake Paul would knock AJ out. I think AJ is a spent force, and Jake Paul is on the rise. 5 CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 5 "I like his new heavyweight look - bit chubby, bit bulky. [He's] getting there." Fury even claimed he would bet £1MILLION on Paul to beat his long-time rival AJ. Derek Chisora says Jake Paul is doing 'great things for boxing' but pleads with him not to fight Anthony Joshua Joshua, 35, is yet to return since his KO loss to Daniel Dubois, 27, in September and has recently undergone elbow surgery. Paul, 28, meanwhile beat ex-middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39, over ten rounds in June at cruiserweight. He dropped TWO STONE after beating Mike Tyson in November when the heavyweight great controversially returned to the ring aged 58. But Chisora, 41, warned that fighting Joshua is a completely different story in a desperate plea to Paul. He told SunSport's Split Decision show: "Listen, Jake Paul is doing so many great things for boxing, I don't care what anybody he says. "He should fight Roy Jones next. I would tell him not to fight Joshua. Because Joshua would actually smoke him out for the sake of it. "I'd tell him, you've got a good thing going on. Fight Roy Jones, fight Floyd Mayweather, fight all these guys. Don't fight AJ." 5
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Ben Askren Says Prognosis Is Great After Lung Transplant Surgery
Even though he's got a new pair of lungs, Ben Askren says doctors have assured him he's fully capable of living a lengthy, healthy life. The former UFC star sat with TMZ Sports just days after he returned home from his weekslong battle with a horrific case of pneumonia ... and while he's down a ton of weight and fresh off major lung transplant surgery -- he told us his long-term prognosis is very good. "They say people run marathons and all this other stuff," he said of those who have been in similar situations to him. "So, hopefully, I'll be able to live a happy, healthy, full life like I want to." As far as the short term, Askren said he was pumped to be out of the hospital and back in his own bed ... telling us family time -- and home-cooked meals -- have made things far easier on him. Askren expressed huge gratitude to those who sent him well wishes over the past month -- and even noted some of his biggest rivals, like Jake Paul and Jorge Masvidal, reached out with positive messages. He did say he's bummed he'll never be able to wrestle again -- and taking medication for the rest of his life is a drag ... but he told us he's thrilled to have more days left to live. "Getting a second chance on life," he said, "it's going to be interesting. I've always tried to make the most of life, and I'm going to continue to try to do that." Solve the daily Crossword
