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Ever since the March 5 announcement that Saudi Arabia and powerful adviser Turki Alalshikh will partner with Dana White and TKO Group to form an exclusive boxing league, debates within the industry have centered on what it will mean to the pre-existing power structures in the sport. 

Will TKO be willing to work with other promoters? Will the old guard team up in an attempt to hold off this anticipated takeover attempt? And is the TKO league actually equipped "in short time" to "crush everything" as it pertains to its competitors like Alalshikh infamously promised upon the initial announcement? 

While most of these podcast and online debates have centered upon the idea that the perceived promotional wars to come will essentially match TKO against the pre-existing "Big 5" of power companies (Top Rank, PBC, Matchroom Sport, Queensberry Promotions and Golden Boy), very little has been said about what role the upstart Most Valuable Promotions will play in all of this. 

If recent rumors are any indication, MVP -- which was founded in 2021 by YouTube sensation Jake Paul and his business partner, former UFC chief financial and strategy officer, Nakisa Bidarian -- has been quietly raising capital at a rapid pace toward the idea of becoming not just another power promoter, but potentially the power promotion that could compete head-to-head with anyone. And it's a rumor that Bidarian didn't necessarily deny. 

"We have self-funded this company for the past three-and-a-half years," Bidarian told CBS Sports on Tuesday. "I look at Jake Paul as being the biggest American boxer and the time has come for us to capitalize the company and allow us to accelerate our growth plan. I'm not going to comment on how much capital but we feel like this is the right moment in time to grow the company and provide more opportunities to fighters, with a fighter-first mentality. 

"When I see the current evolution of what boxing is becoming, it's actually scary. When you look at a publication like 'The Ring' magazine [which was purchased by Alalshikh last November], it is no longer an independent outlet. It's really being used as a marketing platform and as a voice for a specific promotional entity [and] we think there is room to actually create an authentic brand that fans can identify with and know that the fighters are the priority."

Upon its launch, MVP was initially seen as nothing more than a promotional disruptor aimed at providing a platform to stage crossover (and often viral) pay-per-view events headlined by the 28-year-old Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) against a series of aging and retired MMA stars. Many of Paul's initial undercards also featured the boxing debuts of well-known former NBA and NFL players.

To Paul's credit, however, he quickly evolved MVP into much more, namely a platform to showcase underexposed and elite women's boxing talent like seven-division champion and future Hall-of-Famer Amanda Serrano. MVP also began to sign its own prospects, including Ashton "H20" Sylve, and created its own developmental series on DAZN. 

After successfully promoting Paul's PPV events on networks like Showtime, ESPN and DAZN, MVP took a major step forward last November, when it staged Netflix's debut in combat sports at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, headlined by Paul's "fight" against 58-year-old Mike Tyson, which did Super Bowl-like numbers of an astonishing 108 million viewers. 

Most Valuable Promotions shows continued commitment to women's boxing with four new signings
Brian Campbell
Most Valuable Promotions shows continued commitment to women's boxing with four new signings

The co-main event, an all-action rematch between Serrano and Irish legend Katie Taylor, also became the most-watched women's sporting event in U.S. history and set the stage for a trilogy fight, also on Netflix, that will headline a July 11, historic all-female fight card at New York's Madison Square Garden. MVP's commitment to women's boxing has only continued over the past week when it made headlines by signing five more names, including unified champions Alycia Baumgardner and Dina Thorslund, to its roster.

"We knew there was going to be criticism for Paul-Tyson, absolutely," Bidarian said. "But, we had a few priorities. We wanted to bring boxing to as large an audience as possible. No events since the days of Muhammad Ali has come close to giving boxing that exposure. We did that and now they are going to follow us to their next fight, 100 percent. They being the people who want to shoot down what we are doing."

The "they" in question is undoubtedly TKO, which has already teased its debut event could be a Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford superfight in September that is rumored to be on Netflix. But the idea of MVP and TKO feuding isn't necessarily new. 

Paul has used his platform to relentlessly troll White in recent years, focusing his attack on UFC's reputation for underpaying its fighters. White has routinely countered by dismissing Bidarian as nothing more than a former UFC "accountant" and a "goblin." 

Tensions between the two sides heated up extensively one month before the TKO boxing announcement back in February when MVP and PBC appeared to have negotiated the terms for a mega event between Paul and Alvarez on Netflix until an 11th hour swerve saw the Mexican icon sign a four-fight deal with Alalshikh. Back-and-forth trash talk and allegations between the two sides has only continued over the past two months.

Despite this development, Bidarian disagrees that MVP's focus moving forward will be direct, head-to-head competition against TKO and Alalshikh. 

"I look at it as we are going to continue to do what we do well, which is to focus on big, crossover, mainstream events that no one else can do," Bidarian said. "We will lead, they will follow. One-hundred percent, they will follow our blueprint. They have done that before and they will do it again. We will really focus on women's boxing, which I don't think that entity has shown any interest in, nor do I believe at their core do they actually believe in women's boxing the way that we do.

"So, we don't think about them on an active basis at all, but we do know that they are paying close attention to every move that we make and that Jake makes. They are using their platforms to try and antagonize Jake and call him out and discredit him. It just means that they are thinking about us, which we appreciate. When I go to sleep, I think about my son and I think about MVP."

Despite the strength of its roster behind Paul, Serrano and a number of elite women's boxers, MVP wouldn't be taken serious as a leading promoter -- even with its ability to stage viral events -- without a deep enough roster of elite male stars, which is essentially the same challenge TKO will face in its brazen attempt to take over the sport using the seemingly endless bankroll of Saudi Arabia. That could be where MVP's recent raising of capital will come in place. 

Bidarian urged that any free agent signings made by MVP will only come if there's a perceived positive return on investment. 

"We think the right strategy is to focus on young prospects and contenders that have star and success potential and really spend our capital there," Bidarian said. "If there are athletes that we think based upon the commitment of ROI on a base-adjusted commitment makes sense, of course we will do that. But there is also an environment for a while -- and that's going to change very soon or it already has -- [where] there has been unappealing investments made from a return perspective for fighters to fight in the Middle East or Saudi Arabia. 

"You don't want to be contending with that because that doesn't make business sense long term, or at least in terms of the business that we are trying to run. They may have different parameters that they focus on as what return means."

Although MVP has yet to splash the pot by signing a big-name male free agent, Puerto Rican star Edgar Berlanga, whose deal with Matchroom Sport expired this month, told CBS Sports last week that MVP is a potential suitor he is strongly considering. Berlanga made his PPV headlining debut last fall in a decision loss to Alvarez in Las Vegas. 

"We got Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotions out there, as well," Berlanga said. "Shout out to Jake Paul. If [MVP] starts knocking on the door, we could make something happen."

Paul and Bidarian also made a curious appearance ringside at the March 1 PBC PPV in Brooklyn, New York, between Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Lamont Roach Jr., which spurred reports of both a potential Paul-Davis crossover fight and a future relationship between PBC and MVP.  

"I would say we spent a lot of time with PBC through the Canelo process and built a great relationship with them," Bidarian said. "Where it makes sense for us to work together, we are certainly going to explore that. In terms of 'Tank,' we just wanted to be supportive of one of few other American boxing superstars that continues to drive engagement, continues to drive boxing business and hasn't had a need to take his services to other parts of the word."

Considering the controversies of Paul's bout against an aging Tyson, many have questioned whether a fight between Paul and the 135-pound Davis could even be sanctioned by a commission, but Bidarian insists it never got that far. Not to mention, Davis' controversial draw against Roach has led to talks of a possible June rematch between them.    

"I did not discuss anything of that nature with any commissions," Bidarian said. "So, I can't comment on that."

While the business of boxing has been seemingly changing at an alarmingly rapid pace in recent months, Bidarian doesn't believe a single promoter -- whether it be TKO or anyone else -- will ultimately find itself in absolute power, similar to the monopolistic control UFC currently has on the MMA industry. He believes that the open market of boxing will only continue.  

"The sport has been around for 100-plus years and incumbents have come in and gone out but people fail to realize that Dana White has been in boxing -- or tried to get into boxing -- for a very long time," Bidarian said. "In 2014, he had a boxing-centric show on Discovery network and they canceled it after one episode. He has been involved with this Irish fighter [Callum Walsh] who just fought a guy [Dean Sutherland] whose last opponent had 120 losses on his record.

"So now, in addition to focusing on UFC, in addition to focusing on Power Slap and in addition to focusing on skateboarding and surfing, [TKO] are adding boxing to the mix. That's OK, there is no problem with that. Ultimately, what will win out is an ability to identify, develop, market and build talent. There are a lot of people who have done that well in boxing. If TKO can do that, they are just another competitor in the space."

All Bidarian wants MVP to do moving forward is continue to focus on two key goals: being fighter-first and building a new audience of younger fans.

"We are not trying to get rich building MVP, we are trying to build a legacy that supports the fighter and doesn't obviously lose money," Bidarian said. "It's a private entity but the idea isn't how can I make the most money? The idea is how can I make a great brand that is synonymous with the sport that helps athletes in their blood, sweat and tears and the commitment of their lives to monetize it the right way. 

"Our vision is to be the preeminent brand within boxing for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Most of these promoters, including the new ones, don't even understand what Gen Alpha means. Jake is Gen Alpha to the tenth degree and we want to be the reference point for it going forward."