Photo Credit: Esther Lin/MVP
TAMPA, FL – July 21, 2024 – In front of a sold-out crowd of 17,500 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, MVP’s Jake “El Gallo” Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) put on an electrifying show as he demolished the King of Violence, “Platinum” Mike Perry (5-0, 3 KOs BKFC, 0-2 boxing), with a sixth round TKO. Paul, who came out on a gladiator’s chariot, put on a clinic from the opening bell of the bout on MVP’s Fear No Man. In Paul’s longest bout in nearly a year, he showcased his rapid development and growth as a boxer on the path to becoming cruiserweight champion. Paul dominated the fight by flooring Perry three times before the referee halted the bout at 1:12 of Round 6. He showcased his signature power and controlled the fight from the start with a knockdown in the opening round and flashed a strong left jab throughout the fight. Perry managed to open a cut over Paul’s left eye in the third round, but by round four, Paul delivered several combinations that rocked Perry into the ropes, before the 6th round TKO. After the fight, Perry acknowledged Paul’s speed and skill, while Paul credited Perry’s toughness and willingness to keep coming at him before turning his attention to his next fight against Mike Tyson on Friday, November 15th. Paul also called out MMA light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira for an upcoming bout.
MVP’s Fear No Man: Paul vs. Perry, presented by CELSIUS Live Fit Essential Energy, was produced and marketed by MVP with Boxlab Promotions serving as the official licensed promoter and was distributed by DAZN pay-per–view. CELSIUS Live Fit Essential Energy, maker of lifestyle energy drink, is the exclusive energy drink sponsor of MVP.
Boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KOs) showed the world her power at super lightweight and overwhelmed Tampa’s own Stevie “Sledgehammer” Morgan (14-2, 13 KOs) with a flurry of non-stop punches, earning her 31st stoppage victory of her career just 38 seconds in the second round. Following the fight, Amanda noted that female fighters are mistaking her kindness for weakness, and said that if fighters weren’t on her level, she would show them exactly who she was. In a final message for Katie Taylor ahead of the pair’s most highly anticipated women’s boxing rematch in modern history on Friday, November 15, Serrano warned, “We’re going to show that women can fight, put on a show, and sell. But this time, [the result of our fight] is going to be a lot different.”
In a spectacular upset, top-ranked IBF and WBA Lucas “Prince” Bahdi (17-0, 15 KOs) delivered a devastating KO over MVP’s H2O Sylve (11-1, 9 KOs) in a lightweight battle of two of boxing’s top contenders. Sylve owned the scores in the early rounds, dominating from the start, but in the 6th round, Bahdi shocked the world with two stunning two right crosses followed by a huge left hook that dropped H2O to the mat in a KO of the year contender. Following the bout, Bahdi thanked MVP and DAZN for the opportunity to compete on such a massive stage. As a precaution, H20 was taken to a local hospital and cleared by doctors.
After an exciting split draw on MVP’s Most Valuable Prospects 5, Tony Aguilar (12-1-1, 4 KOs) and Corey “2SMoove” Marksman (10-0-1, 7 KOs) brought the energy in their pay-per-view debuts in a 8-round lightweight bout to settle the rivalry between the two. Crescent City, FL’s Aguilar was aggressive from the opening bell and brought the crowd to its feet as he delivered a relentless barrage against Marksman. The pair traded blows throughout eight rounds, with Marksman raising the intensity as the fight went on. The decision went to the cards and Orlando’s Marksman took home the majority decision victory over Aguilar (76-76, 77-75, 78-74). After the bout, Marksman shared an emotional moment about his long-awaited victory and that he hopes to see his professional career skyrocket from here.
Mexican cruiserweight and former WBC world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (54-6-1, 34 KOs) took on MMA star Uriah Hall (1-1 Boxing, 18-11, 14 KOs UFC) over 6 rounds at cruiserweight in the pay-per-view main card opener. Chavez Jr, son of former three-division world boxing champion Julio César Chávez, “El Gran Campeón Mexicano,” kept the pressure on Hall the entire fight,despite several power-packed combos from Hall. The bout resulted in a unanimous decision (59-55 x2, 58-56) victory in favor of Chavez Jr. After the bout, in-ring reporter and famed combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani asked Chavez Jr. if he would look to take on Jake Paul next, which Chavez Jr. accepted.
In the preliminary card headliner, MVP’s super middleweight powerhouse Shadasia “The Sweet Terminator” Green (14-1, 11 KOs) made her first appearance of 2024 as she returned to the ring to prove her path back to title contender. The Paterson, NJ native faced Cambridge, Ontario, Canada’s Natasha “Nightmare” Spence (8-5-2, 6 KOs) across a tense 8 rounds before the decision went to the cards, earning Green an impressive unanimous decision win (78-73, 77-74 x2). Following the bout, Green spoke in-ring about coming back from a loss on her record to emerge victorious again, and thanked her team, family, and MVP for standing behind her throughout her journey.
Stunning the crowd with a vicious combo, Amanda Serrano’s signee Alexis “Chop Chop” Chaparro (2-0, 2 KOs) scored a sensational second round knockout over Kevin Hill (1-2, 1 KO). In a hard fought back and forth six-round battle, 21-year-old Angel Barrientes (12-1, 7 KOs) defeated Edwin Rodriguez (12-9-2, 5 KOs) by majority decision (57-57, 60-54 x2). In the opening fight of the evening, Tampa’s own Ariel “Golden Hulk” Perez (4-0, 3 KOs) wowed the crowd with a third round knockout over Dane Guerrero (0-1-1).
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Post-Fight Press Conference Quotes
Jake Paul
On if the fight went as he expected: A little bit different, I truly believed I would knock him out in the first round. But man, that guy is tough. He took damage like no one I’ve ever seen before. But I knew that if I didn’t get him out of there in the first round that it would happen later on in the fight.
On his respect for Mike Perry: He just kept coming. So respect to Mike Perry. That’s why he’s the King of Violence, Former King of Violence – I’m the new King of Violence, but respect to him.
On if there was anything he could improve: Yeah, I’m a perfectionist. And I wasn’t perfect because he hit me like five times. One was good. One good punch, he landed. So I just need to go back to the drawing board so I don’t get hit at all.
On thriving under criticism: I love what I’m backed into a corner because there’s only one thing to do, and that’s fight your way out. People don’t believe in my skill. They said this was a mistake… They always sit across from me and underestimate me and think they can beat me. But people don’t realize my speed, my power.
On calling out Alex Pereira and MMA stars: I want everybody. I love this sport. He’s tweeted about wanting to go into boxing. We got him on FaceTime right there in the ring. And I said, ‘Yo, can you get out of your contract? If you can get out of his contract then let’s run in.’ When I asked him that, he had to pause; he looked at his manager. You know, these guys aren’t their own bosses. I want all the smoke. But at the end of the day, will Dana let them out? That’s too big of a risk if I could embarrass his number one prized fighter right now. But I want all the smoke. I want all the MMA guys, and I’ve been all the way, so who’s next? He’s the king of the UFC right now. So I want him. I’m going to decapitate him and dethrone him.
On how he will help H2O recover from the loss: He could just look at what I did you know, and then just come back stronger. Double down. That’s a lesson for everyone out there — what do you do when you take losses in life? You double down. You go back to the drawing board and you keep going. You only lose when you quit. That’s a Mike Tyson quote.
On whether fighting MMA fighters will help him become a cruiserweight boxing champion: Yeah, man, anytime I can get into a camp for a big fight and perform under the bright lights to prepare me for tough moments, I’m going to take it. You know, there’s money fights, there’s big fights, there’s experience fights. I think tonight was an experience fight… And if I can go in there with champions of different leagues? Those are the best of the best in the world, and they’re gonna bring the best out of me.
On why fighting MMA fighters is hard: MMA fighters sometimes are harder to fight than boxers because [Perry] was just changing everything every round and there were no repetitive patterns.
On whether he’d fight Nate Diaz in MMA: I want to do it in MMA. But there’s too much to risk for him. I don’t think he thinks he could actually beat me in MMA. We made the offer and he hasn’t accepted it.
On Conor McGregor tweeting that he is‘firing’ Mike Perry from BKFC: Conor is on Twitter all the time. He’s on his yacht all the time. But guess where he’s not? In the ring fighting me, so he can talk all the sh*t he wants. But then the Notorious MMA, remember, is scared of Jake Joseph Paul from Disney Channel.
Amanda Serrano
On the crowd’s support: No, it’s a great time. And I love fighting in front of a big audience, thanks to Jake, all these big fights – they just feed off of that. And I just love giving the fans a real good fight. You know, I’ll take one [punch] to get two hard ones in.
On whether Stevie Morgan’s pre-fight comments got under her skin: Not under my skin, under my trainer’s skin, Jordan Maldonado. And every time that happens, I don’t know, I feed off of his energy. And he just makes me go out there. And he tells me ‘Forget the skills, just go out there and go through her’. And that’s what happened.
On whether she thought Morgan was disrespectful: I feel like she was a little disrespectful. But I had to keep my cool. I’m a professional and that’s what I do. I stay calm and collected. I go out there and I perform.
On whether she knew she’d win within the first minute of the fight: Yeah, I knew it. After the first couple of punches, I was like, ‘Okay, I got it. I’m gonna narrow down and I’m gonna hit hard.’ And then all my punches were hard, and I knew I was gonna win. The referee said, ‘Show me something Stevie’. I just ran out. ‘I said it’s over’.
On what MVP has done for her career: I’ve said it from the very beginning, this was the easiest and best decision I ever made. Jake, Nakisa changed my life, my family’s life, my team’s life, 100%. Now I sit here in front of you, a multi millionaire. People see women’s boxing, women can fight, women can sell, we can perform, and put on a great show. And thanks to these men over here [Jake and Nakisa] and my trainer Jordan Maldonado – I think this is the dream team. And I’m super happy and proud to be here.
On whether H2O’s loss affected her and Jake: Honestly, it definitely shifted the energy in the locker room. And it was just scary. I love that guy. So yeah, it did affect us. And we had to kind of, you know, say a quick little prayer for him and then refocus, but it is really weird to experience that.
On if she is the face of Puerto Rican and female boxing: I mean, I believe I am. I represent all of Puerto Rico because that’s my pride. I represent all women. And that’s what I want to do.
On being ready for Katie Taylor: I feel strong. I know Katie Taylor is obviously not Stevie Morgan. But… it’s going to be a good, good fight.
On whether she’d fight MMA: I mean, I don’t mind, I’m a fighter, I love to fight and if it makes some women bigger in the sport, why not?
Nakisa Bidarian
On the sell-out power of Amanda and Jake: So we put this fight on sale, no press conference, out of the blue, these two decided they wanted to fight. The reality is devastating, Haney vs. Garcia didn’t sell out, Shakur Stevenson didn’t sell out. Jake Paul and Amanda Serrano, once again, prove that they are the faces of boxing. They didn’t have to take this fight. Everything was on the line. And they both came out and showed and proved it tonight… It shows the draw that Jake has, and that Amanda has and the disruptive nature of our company. We ended up with over 17,500 [seats sold, a sellout crowd]. And, you know, honestly, it’s just a testament to the popularity of this man and that woman, these two athletes, and now they are facing Mike Tyson and Katie Taylor in what I believe will be the biggest fight since the Muhammad Ali.
On Jake being sick: This guy was very sick until this Wednesday. You can listen to him in the [MVP] Face to Face – some people commented online ‘Why does he sound so nasally?’- He’s been sick for a week. He caught something right before the fight. But the entire time, he was resolute that he wanted to go through with it. He’s a warrior. He’s a tough, tough, tough, tough man.
On what Jake gains from fighting MMA fighters: These moments, I think, help prepare him for those more experienced boxers. You saw Chavez Jr. tonight, he looked he looked pretty good but he was fighting a guy who was 1 and 0 in boxing, and that was against a an NFL player, and yet that MMA guy was able to hang in there with someone who has 60 plus fights. It’s not easy what he does to these MMA fighters.
Mike Perry
On if Jake surprised him: You know, he came with the right hook to the body in the beginning, cracked my rib. First 10 seconds.
On what went wrong: I think he was just too fast. I kept seeing movement. His right hook hit me easier than I expected. But I blocked him a couple of times, like I thought I would, but then, you know, it just kept coming. And I made a couple of mistakes and didn’t block some of them and they hit me.
On Conor McGregor ‘firing’ him from BKFC: Whatever. He doesn’t fucking have a promotion because me and him are both owners of the BKFC, so you can’t fire me.
On his next move: Family time, get back in the gym when I can try to take care of my body. I’m not in a hurry to go party and fuck myself up or like you know, just have a good time. There’s nothing to be happy about. I should have done better. Or maybe I just couldn’t, I don’t know. He was a little too sharp, too fast for me.
On if he would go back for another boxing fight: Well, the last one was nine years ago. And this was a good opportunity for me, a major event, a sold-out arena, great fans came and I tried to give them a fight and you know, it just doesn’t look like that’s the thing for me. But I’ll probably get back in the gym because that’s all I know. And I’ll train and I’ll try to get better. And you know, I use it as a mental health thing. I train in the gym to be a better person… I’ve got to branch out on my training and get some different looks and you know, maybe just do a little bit of traveling and some life seeking and get myself out there and you know, also be more with my family.
On the support from the crowd: Shout out to Florida man, they showed up for your boy, the whole arena went crazy. All those hard-working people spent their hard-earned money. They came and I hope they had a great time. You know, not every day, you can see Mike Perry go down like that.
On if Jake had improved since they last sparred: Yeah, totally man. I told him, ‘you’re a lot faster than you used to be.’ So you know, he did a great job.
On if he’d fight Jake in MMA: You know if that’s something he wanted to do, I’d be willing to do it. These other guys didn’t want him, but I would.
Lucas Badhi
On sticking out a tricky start of the fight: I mean, I didn’t start off good. My legs were like quicksand. But I took this fight on, you know, three and a half weeks’ notice and I didn’t have the best preparation for it, but I knew that this [was] my opportunity
On winning in front of a massive crowd: I mean, this kind of shows what I’m about.
On finding his rhythm: I took some shots early on. But like I said, I knew that it was gonna come. And it was just a matter of time.
On his native Canadian support during fight week: That felt amazing. I got Canada behind me. And I hope I made a lot more fans tonight.
On being asked if this was the knockout of the year: Absolutely. Who’s gonna top that?
On MVP: MVP did an amazing job this week. They took very good care of us. If they’re interested in doing something, we’re open to options for sure.
On the support on social media: Yeah, I mean, I’ve been taking a look.. It’s kind of overwhelming with all the messages. I don’t know if I have time tonight to even go through the messages [but] it’s It’s pretty crazy right now.
On H2O Sylve: I was happy he was okay afterwards. He’s a really nice kid and [I have] a lot of respect for him.
