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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff Writer
Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the boxing promotional company co-founded by Jake Paul, has signed rising Hollywood star and boxing up-and-comer Javon “Wanna” Walton, officials told ESPN on Monday.
Walton, best known for his role as Ashtray on the HBO Emmy-winning series “Euphoria,” has had an accomplished amateur boxing career already, including more than 80 bouts, multiple junior amateur tournament victories and five Georgia state championships. He has competed at 125 pounds.
At 17 years old, Walton is MVP’s youngest signing. He has also appeared in major roles on streaming hits “The Umbrella Academy” and “Samaritan.” He already has more than 5 million followers on Instagram and more than 13 million followers across all social-media platforms.
The plan is for Walton to make his professional boxing debut in 2024, and MVP will advise him as he finishes up his amateur career. MVP, headed and founded by Paul and former UFC chief financial officer Nakisa Bidarian, will assist Walton with brand building, content creating and marketing, per officials.
“I’ve been training so hard and working for the majority of my life for this moment,” Walton said in a statement. “MVP feels like family, and that’s very important to me. I know they can help me reach my goals in professional boxing and do it in a way that feels special to me.”
Walton will be introduced by MVP in person Aug. 2 during the open workouts for the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz event in Dallas. He joins Paul, all-time women’s boxing great Amanda Serrano, top prospect Ashton Sylve and knockout artist Shadasia Green as boxers signed to MVP. Walton will compete in the future on MVP events, including its Most Valuable Prospects series. He will continue to train under his father and coach, DJ.
“We see this as an incredible opportunity to make a big impact on ‘Wanna”s entrance into professional boxing,” DJ said. “The way Nakisa and Jake have been able to disrupt the boxing promotion business in such a considerably short period of time is inspiring. We’re honored to be MVP’s youngest signee.”
In addition to his growing profile in Hollywood and on social media, Walton is making a name as an athlete. Last November, the Atlanta native became the youngest person to sign a deal with Nike’s prestigious Jordan Brand. Walton is a former two-time Junior Olympics national silver medalist in boxing and a decorated gymnast recognized by USA Gymnastics.
“‘Wanna’ Walton is uniquely positioned to become the face of combat sports over the next decade,” Paul and Bidarian said in a statement. “With an unmatched blend of skills and pedigree, strong values, and a large highly engaged fan base before turning pro, he embodies a true superstar in the making. We’re honored to welcome ‘Wanna’ into our family of exceptional athletes and under MVP, he will be headlining global pay-per-view events in no time. MVP is leading a new era of boxing and ‘Wanna’ is the future. We can’t wait to see his greatness unfold.”
Paul will fight Diaz in a pay-per-view main event Aug. 5 in Dallas, with Serrano, Sylve and Green on the undercard.