MVP's Fear No Man: Jake Paul
vs. Mike Perry; Amanda Serrano vs. Stevie Morgan
Source: Press Release
July 19, 2024
TAMPA, FL – July 19, 2024 – MVP’s Jake “El Gallo de Dorado” Paul
(9-1, 6 KOs) and the King of Violence, “Platinum” Mike Perry
came face to face for the first time at a press conference held
at the Amalie Arena ahead of their bout this Saturday, July 20.
Paul vs. Perry, presented by CELSIUS Live Fit Essential Energy,
is set for an eight-round cruiserweight bout and will be shown
live globally on DAZN pay-per-view from the Amalie Arena in
Tampa, FL. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.
In the highly anticipated co-main event, boxing trailblazer and
unified featherweight world champion Amanda “The Real Deal”
Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs) will face top-10 ranked IBF, WBO, and
WBA talent and KO artist, Stevie “Sledgehammer” Morgan (14-1, 13
KOs) in a 10x2 super lightweight fight. Amanda will test her
power and endurance at super lightweight ahead of her clash with
Katie Taylor later this year.
MVP’s undefeated phenom and top lightweight prospect H2O Sylve
(11-0, 9 KOs) will put his undefeated record on the line yet
again against top IBF and WBA ranked prospect Lucas “Prince”
Bahdi (16-0, 14 KOs) in a 10 round lightweight bout. Also on the
card, Mexican cruiserweight and former WBC world champion Julio
Cesar Chavez Jr. (53-6-1, 34 KOs) returns against Uriah Hall
(1-0 Boxing, 18-11, 14 KOs UFC) at cruiserweight and Crescent
City, Florida’s Tony Aguilar (12-0-1, 4 KOs) vs. Orlando,
Florida’s Corey “2Smoove" Marksman (9-0-1, 7 KOs) in an 8-round
lightweight bout, a rematch of their split draw in February 2024
on Most Valuable Prospects 5.
In today’s press conference (July`18) hosted by renowned combat
sports journalist Ariel Helwani, Paul, Perry, Serrano, Morgan,
Sylve, Bahdi, Chavez Jr., Hall, Aguilar and Marksmen had plenty
to say about the upcoming event:
Jake Paul Quotes:
On whether he watched any footage of Perry: He had a boxing
match in a triangle that I gained a lot of knowledge from. Lot
of openings. It's gonna be a short night Ariel.
On what he has to look out for in Perry’s skillset: The skills
is what pay the bills. And he has no footwork, no head movement,
no defense. He's a great offensive fighter and bare knuckle, but
in terms of boxing, he's going to get picked apart very quickly,
and it's going to be a short night. Like I said, my predictions
are never wrong, so I stand on business every single time I
manifested into reality. I Jake Joseph Paul will knock out Mike
Perry in less than two rounds. It's going to happen, put money
on it.
On what the rationale was to take the fight and the difference
between Tyson and Perry: To stay getting experience under the
bright lights on my world, on my path to World Championship. And
that's what matters, is getting the experience under the bright
lights. And this is a Mike appetizer. Mike warm up, but they're
both killers at the end of the day, and I do have to be sharp.
He does have one punch knockout power that I do have to respect.
But other than that, it's going to be easy.
On Conor McGregor telling press that Perry was fighting a
‘dweeb’ in Jake Paul: Well, first of all, he's big up in BKFC,
but you're going to see what I'm going to do to their best
fighter on Saturday night. I'm going to embarrass their entire
league. This guy has no skill; those are just brawler idiot
street fighter dudes who have no idea what the sweet science is.
Conor McGregor can say what he wants, but he won't fight me
either. Once I knock out Mike Perry, Conor McGregor, let's run
it. But you won't do it because you know what's going to happen.
You saw what I did to Nate Diaz, who you went toe-to-toe with.
Conor McGregor, lay off the cocaine, get in the gym, and start
winning fights. Then maybe we could have a conversation.
On why he chose to take a dangerous fight despite Mike Tyson’s
concerns: This is what I do. I'm here to fight. I love to take
risks and do big events. Mike Tyson called and was concerned
about this fight jeopardizing the biggest fight of my career.
That's what puts the pressure on me, and I love that. I'm not
slowing down for anybody. Mike Perry is not going to be the one
to stop me. I'm on a path to World Championship. I'm not slowing
down for anybody.
On what his biggest concern with the fight is: He's unorthodox.
That's about it. So the first 30 seconds to a minute, just find
my timing in range. That's then the fight's over. That's really
about it.
On whether he’ll fight Perry in MMA: Yes, let's go after this.
After I knock him out on Saturday, let's sign the contract for
some MMA. I'll choke you out too.
On the decision to choose Perry as the opponent: This came about
because he has a crazy fan base. And anytime I would post an
Instagram picture over the last like 18 months, one of the top
comments would always be fight Mike Perry. Fight. Mike Perry,
you're scared of Mike Perry, and so I love to prove people wrong
and take the fights that no one thinks I'm going to take.
On how his skill has improved: This past year has been a
different Jake Paul showing up into the gym, learning in the
gym, and I really haven't been able to display my skills because
of the first round knockouts, and likely that'll happen again on
Saturday, but I really have so many tools in the shed that I'm
ready to pull out and get warmed up as the rounds go on, and
just display all the new things we've Been working on.
On coming back to Tampa: There's magic in this place. I love
fighting in Florida and Tampa. The energy when I knocked out
Woodley was amazing, one of the best moments of my life. I
wanted to come back for another highlight reel KO.
Mike Perry Quotes:
On whether he has to get the win for not only himself but for
the MMA community: I’m doing it for everybody, for me, for the
fans, for BKFC, for MMA, you know, just mainly for me, because I
believe in myself and my boxing ability. I'm a brawling boxing
mug, so I'm ready to get in the ring with Jake and have some
fun.
On how he has evolved since his last professional fight: I've
been winning since then. There's all I know. I've been
victorious. I've been succeeding consistently, and I've been
getting better every single day. Put this little twerp in his
place. He's new to this game. Welcome. Welcome. You just got
here.
In response to Paul saying Perry has no boxing experience: Don't
worry, you're going to get what you've been asking for, the
fight to go longer than one round. Imma give you hell in the
first round, and you'll get tired. You're going to be grasping
for air. I made a new word, grasping.
On what makes him different from Diaz and other MMA fighters who
Paul has fought: This is my chance to show the world what a real
fighter can do in boxing. Those other guys were long past their
prime.
Amanda Serrano-Stevie Morgan - Photo credit: Damon Gonzalez
Amanda Serrano Quotes:
On the trash talk from Stevie Morgan: Listen, I don't pay
attention to that. That doesn't win fights, that doesn't pay my
bills. I go out, I train hard, I fight hard, and you'll see
Saturday night.
On if she is looking past Morgan with the Katie Taylor fight
coming up: This is my 50th fight and I’ve never overlooked an
opponent.
Stevie Morgan Quotes:
On her previous comment that Serrano is the weakest of the
fighters at the top: I’m not being disrespectful at all, I’m
just stating facts. If I had to fight any of the fighters at the
top, Amanda is the one I’d choose mainly because she’ll make me
look good… she’s on her way out, she could have retired two
years ago.
On if Amanda is overlooking her for Katie Taylor: I don't think
she looks past any opponent, but she shouldn't be for sure. One
thing for sure, I am a professional, been in this game for 15
years, this is my 50th fight, and I never overlooked any
opponent.
Lucas Bahdi Quotes:
On what it was like to get the call asking to be on the card:
I've been waiting for an opportunity like this, a big
opportunity, a big stage. This is obviously my toughest fight,
his toughest fight by two undefeated fighters. It's gonna be a
great fight.
H2O Sylve Quotes:
On what his assessment of Bahdi is: From what I saw in very
fundamentally sound, he has a real right hand. I think that's
the best attribute on this side.
Tony Aguilar Quotes:
On the previous split decision ruling in his first match with
Marksman and if it would have been different were he in better
shape: It wouldn't have been even close enough, and then even
tried to call it a draw, you know, I mean, but Saturday, we will
right that wrong, like they said, you know, because it was the
wrong decision. But we will make sure they know on Saturday.
Corey Marksman Quotes:
On what he learned from the split decision between him and
Aguilar: I'd say, don't take anything for granted. You know, you
might think that you're in the lead, you might think that you're
winning the fight, but at the end of the day, the judges are the
ones that decide that. So you gotta really go out there and take
what’s yours.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Quotes:
On his motivation to come back after a three-year break: To be
back in boxing is great for me. I'm ready to put on a
performance on Saturday.
On whether this is a one-off or a comeback: This is definitely a
comeback.
Uriah Hall Quotes:
On his decision to come back after a two-year hiatus As an
athlete, as a warrior, you still have those tendencies. And time
to time, I get a little bored… so when this came up, I got
excited.
About Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)
Most Valuable Promotions 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 five global pay-per-view
events, including the recent Paul vs. Diaz 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. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was
an executive producer of the historic Triller Presents Mike
Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which was the 8th most bought
pay-per-view event in history.
About DAZN
DAZN is the home of European football, women’s football, boxing
and MMA, and the NFL (excl. USA). We are building the ultimate
sports entertainment platform, based on premium sports rights,
world-leading tech, and multi-platform distribution. DAZN
believes that fans from across the globe should be able to
watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and
merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and
on one app.
For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and
performance, visit dazngroup.com.
About Vinik Sports Group/Tampa Bay Lightning/AMALIE Arena:
The three-time Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning (2004,
2020, 2021) of the National Hockey League and the leasehold
rights to AMALIE Arena, the 19,092-seat home in which the team
plays its games, were purchased by Tampa Bay Sports &
Entertainment, an entity established by Chairman and Governor
Jeff Vinik, in March of 2010. Since that time, the Lightning and
the arena have undergone a complete brand and business
transformation, featuring a $100 million dollar renovation of
the publicly owned facility as well as back-to-back Stanley Cup
Championships in 2020 and 2021. AMALIE Arena serves as the
centerpiece of the vibrant Water Street district of downtown
Tampa, a development spearheaded by Vinik, in a partnership with
Strategic Property Partners. In February of 2020, the
organization announced the creation of Vinik Sports Group, which
now serves as the parent company of the Lightning, AMALIE Arena
and other sports and entertainment assets, including management
of the Yuengling Center on the campus of the University of South
Florida, as well as multi-media rights for USF Athletics. AMALIE
Arena hosts over 200 events per year with over 2 million guests
walking through the doors, while Yuengling Center hosts over 250
events per year with over 1 million guests. Both have the
mission to provide world-class entertainment for sports fans and
music enthusiasts alike.
