Jake Paul and Eddie Hearn spent 2023 trading defamation lawsuits. On July 28, 2026, they announced a long-term strategic alliance to co-develop women's boxing, and Hearn admitted the reason on the record. Paul's Most Valuable Promotions now holds roughly 90% of the women's boxing market. Matchroom, the 25-year incumbent that once sued Paul, needed the deal to keep its own fighters competitive.
⚡ Key Takeaways
- Jake Paul's MVP and Eddie Hearn's Matchroom announced a long-term women's boxing alliance on July 28, 2026, four years after Matchroom sued Paul for defamation.
- Hearn conceded MVP now controls ~90% of the women's boxing market, including six of The Ring's top ten pound-for-pound women.
- First signing: WBC champ Skye Nicolson, who defends at MVPW-06 in Birmingham on August 29, 2026.
- Taylor vs. Serrano 2 on Netflix pulled a record 74M viewers, the most-watched women's sporting event ever.
- This is the creator-economy endgame: the disruptor becomes the institution, and the incumbent has to negotiate terms.
What actually happened?
MVP and Matchroom Boxing formally partnered to co-develop the women's side of the sport, per ESPN. Matchroom's female fighters gain access to MVP's US home on ESPN and its UK home on Sky Sports, while MVP's roster taps Matchroom's global promotional infrastructure. The first signing under the alliance is WBC super-bantamweight champion Skye Nicolson, who defends her title against Miyo Yoshida at MVPW-06 in Birmingham on August 29, 2026.
The scale of MVP's dominance is what made the deal inevitable. Six of The Ring's top ten pound-for-pound women, including Amanda Serrano, Mikaela Mayer, Chantelle Cameron, Caroline Dubois, Alycia Baumgardner, and Ellie Scotney, fight under MVP, according to Sports Illustrated. Since launching in August 2021, MVP has produced over 30 live events and promotes 60-plus fighters, per Most Valuable Promotions. Matchroom's women were chasing meaningful fights by crossing over anyway. This just formalized it.
Why does this matter for creators?
This is the clearest data point yet on what happens when a creator-built company gets big enough to consolidate an entire pro sport. Paul did not raise a war chest and buy Matchroom. He built enough distribution, signed enough top talent, and generated enough demand that the incumbent had to negotiate terms. Four years ago that same incumbent was suing him for defamation.
The Taylor vs. Serrano trilogy is the receipts. The second fight on Netflix pulled a record 74M average viewers, the most-watched women's sporting event in history, per Sports Illustrated. The third averaged 6M and became the most-watched US boxing event of 2025, per The Hollywood Reporter. MVP built the demand that made this alliance necessary.
"This is a partnership not many would have seen coming. But it is one that makes perfect sense. For our female fighters to chase legacy and to fight the best, this new alliance is integral and we are fully committed to working together with MVPW to continue to grow women's boxing."
Eddie Hearn, Chairman, Matchroom Boxing
Where does this go from here?
The alliance formalizes a pipeline Paul has been building since 2021. Matchroom's fighters route through MVP's Netflix, ESPN, and Sky Sports deals; MVP's roster gets Matchroom's international matchmaking. Expect more cross-promoted cards after MVPW-06, and expect the men's side to test whether the same model works with Turki Alalshikh's Riyadh Season money already in the mix.
The bigger story is what this signals for other pro sports run by legacy promoters. UFC's Dana White reportedly hates the deal, per Bloody Elbow, which tracks: an incumbent partnering with a disruptor makes every other incumbent look slower. If Paul can consolidate women's boxing in four years, the same playbook is coming for any sport where the athletes have more direct-to-fan leverage than the promoter.
What does Fanvault think?
This is the creator-economy endgame that most platforms flirt with and never reach. The creator does not become an alternative to the institution. They become the institution, and the old institution has to negotiate terms. Vertical control of your audience compounds faster than any middle layer can react, and Paul owns the promotion, the roster, the broadcast deals, and the content pipeline outright. That same principle is why Fanvault takes 8% and lets creators keep 92%, versus 15% at Fanvue, 10% plus $0.30 at Passes, and ~20% at Fanfix. Own the storefront and the fanbase, or watch someone else set the ceiling on what you can earn.
The Paul-Hearn deal is proof the direction of travel is real. The middle is where value leaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Jake Paul and Eddie Hearn actually announce?
On July 28, 2026, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021, and Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing announced a long-term strategic alliance to co-develop women's boxing. Matchroom's female fighters gain access to MVP's US broadcast deal with ESPN and UK deal with Sky Sports; MVP's roster taps Matchroom's global promotional infrastructure. The first fighter to move under the alliance is Australia's Skye Nicolson, the WBC super-bantamweight champion.
How big is MVP now, really?
Bigger than most creator-built companies ever get in any sport. Hearn told reporters MVP holds an estimated
Weren't Paul and Hearn suing each other?
Yes. Paul publicly accused Matchroom of fixing fights in 2023, prompting Matchroom to file a defamation lawsuit. That case quietly settled out of court in 2025 after the two sides began collaborating on the Taylor vs. Serrano trilogy. The July 2026 alliance formalizes what has been a working relationship for about a year.
Why does this matter to non-boxing creators?
Because it is a live case study in what happens when a creator owns the distribution, the roster, and the product outright. Paul did not license his fame back to a legacy label. He built MVP into the demand engine (Taylor vs. Serrano 2 hit
What's next on the MVP-Matchroom calendar?
MVPW-06 at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Skye Nicolson defends her WBC super-bantamweight title against Japan's Miyo Yoshida in a 10-round bout, alongside a Mikaela Mayer vs. Chantelle Cameron unification. Expect more cross-promoted cards through the fall as the alliance's pipeline fills in.