NEW YORK, NY – July 24, 2023 – Today, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced it has signed Javon “Wanna” Walton, boxing prodigy and actor best known for his role as “Ashtray” on the Emmy-winning series Euphoria. Fighting at 125 pounds, Walton has over 80 amateur bouts under his belt, which include wins in multiple junior amateur tournaments and five Georgia state titles. MVP, founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021, will utilize Bidarian’s media, sports and finance acumen to advise Walton on brand building, content creation, and marketing of events along with Paul’s viral content creation and marketing genius. MVP will advise him as he finishes out the remainder of his amateur career and prepares to make his professional debut in 2024. Walton will make his first MVP appearance as a participant in the open workouts on Wednesday, August 2nd, in Dallas, TX, as part of the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz fight week.
“I’ve been training so hard and working for the majority of my life for this moment. 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.” said, Walton.
Walton, who turned 17 two days ago, will remain an amateur boxer in development with MVP, and will join MVP’s elite roster of superstar athletes and up-and-coming stars including Jake Paul, undisputed Featherweight World Champion Amanda Serrano, prolific top boxing prospect Ashton Sylve, and power-puncher Shadasia Green. As the youngest-ever athlete to sign with Nike’s Jordan Brand, Walton will continue to excel as a boxer and compete in MVP’s future marquee events and Most Valuable Prospects showcase series. He will continue training under his father and coach, DJ Walton.
Walton got his start at the age of four when he became one of America’s youngest amateur prospects. His skill and hard work earned him the title of multi-time Junior Regional Champion and two-time Junior Olympic national silver medalist. In addition to his boxing chops, Walton was also a USA Gymnastics-ranked elite rising star and was named to their exclusive Future Star program at age eight, one of only seven in the southeast. Walton continued on to compete at the elite level in trampoline and floor tumbling (TNT), finishing with top three in the nation with a silver medal in all-round in 2016. Walton is the first and only athlete in the state of Georgia to hold the youth gymnastics all-around and USA Boxing/Silver Gloves boxing champion state titles simultaneously.
The Atlanta native is also a world-renowned actor who captured international attention with his debut role as the beloved drug dealer “Ashtray” in the HBO Max Emmy-winning series Euphoria starring alongside Hollywood icons Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney. Walton’s credits also include roles in Season 3 of Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, the Amazon Prime Video series Utopia, MGM’s SAMARITAN, where he starred opposite Sylvester Stallone, and BRON Studios and MGM’s animated comedy The Addams Family 2, where he made his voice acting debut as Pugsley Addams. Walton will also star in Hulu’s upcoming true-crime mini-series release, Under the Bridge, where he plays a main character alongside Riley Keough.
Walton has garnered an impressive social audience of over 13 million followers across his platforms and has become one of the most marketable names for premiere athletic and consumer brands. At only eight years old, he was the youngest athlete identified by Under Armour and became one of seven athletes to be crowned ‘NEXT,’ Under Armour’s youth athlete elite development program. Walton was also featured in the advertising campaign for the Muhammed Ali Collection in 2018 and was prominently highlighted in UA’s Will Finds A Way campaign alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“We see this as an incredible opportunity to make a big impact on Wanna’s entrance into professional boxing. 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.” Said Walton’s coach and father, DJ Walton
In addition to acting, Wanna has attracted the attention of major brands like Essentia Water and PSD Underwear. Drake’s OVO then tapped Walton to model another of their collaborations with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Additional brand partnerships for the young star include collaborations with Gap and Venmo, as the face of its new teen card.
“Wanna Walton is uniquely positioned to become the face of combat sports over the next decade. 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,” said MVP co-founders Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul. “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.”
Founded with the mission to give athletes creative control, MVP works to identify, grow, and maximize return for its talent partners and events. As one of the most successful and iconic creators in the world, Paul has one of the largest followings on YouTube, with over 70 million followers across his digital platforms – creating an invaluable built-in marketing system that coordinates with his efforts in the ring. His co-founder, the former CFO of UFC, former CEO and Co-Founder of Fertitta Capital and founder of BAVAFA Sports, Bidarian, has demonstrated a deep understanding of corporate finance, content creation and operational strategy working together to build successful businesses.
Together, Paul and Bidarian have architected Jake Paul’s meteoric rise in combat sports. In 2021, MVP signed one of the most decorated Hispanic athletes of all time, Amanda Serrano and since signing with the company, she has become Undisputed Featherweight Champion. Her historic clash against Katie Taylor at Madison Square Garden in 2022 earned recognition as Sports Illustrated’s Fight of the Year, The Ring’s Event of the Year and was further nominated for Event of the Year by Sports Business Journal. The event marked a pivotal point in women’s sports history as the first-time women have headlined a main event at the world-renowned venue in New York City. MVP’s other signees include the prolific undefeated young boxing prospect Ashton “H20” Sylve and one of boxing’s most powerful female punchers, Shadasia “The Sweet Terminator” Green.
For more information, follow on Twitter via @JakePaul @MostVPromotions and @OnwardWanna, or on Instagram via @JakePaul, @MostValuablePromotions, and @OnwardWanna.
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 has produced Jake Paul’s last four global pay-per-view events, including the recent Paul vs. Fury match, which surpassed 800,000 Pay-per-view buys worldwide. 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, recently 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.
