Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions has released
Ashton Sylve more than a year after the touted lightweight prospect suffered a crushing knockout loss to
Lucas Bahdi.
“H20” Sylve (11-1, 9 KOs), a 21-year-old Long Beach, California native, revealed the development Tuesday.
“The way MVP handled this doesn’t sit right,”
wrote on social media. “I helped build that platform when people still saw it as influencer boxing. I was the first real prospect they signed. I gave Lucas Bahdi a shot after my original opponent,
Floyd Schofield, got injured. I didn’t duck. I stepped up.
“Now, MVP and Bahdi won’t even consider a rematch. Just clips of my loss on repeat while others get protected. I unfollowed because I couldn’t keep watching it. I thought Jake was my brother. I thought MVP was my team. Instead of support, I got a release letter. No call. No convo. Just cut.
“Still training. Still sharp. Still ready to fight.”
A statement from MVP read: "Most Valuable Promotions is proud to have worked with Ashton "H20" Sylve during the early stages of both his career and our company's evolution.
"To clarify, Ashton was never signed under any promotional agreement with MVP, nor was there an exclusive arrangement in place. Our previous relationship was advisory in nature, and Ashton, on multiple occasions, pursued opportunities with other boxing organizations.
"While our paths have since gone in different directions, we remain fans of Ashton. He is a gifted young athlete with a bright future ahead, and we'll be rooting for him as he continues his journey in the sport."
Sylve suffered a sixth-round knockout to Bahdi in July 2024 during a contest in which he was pitching a shutout. Sylve outlanded Bahdi 101-to-38 before he was brutally knocked out face first.
Bahdi leveraged the breakout win to a promotional deal with MVP, while Sylve has officially now been served his pink slip. The 31-year-old
inked a multi-fight extension last month, ahead of his WBA title eliminator against Roger Gutierrez on August 23.
Sylve was supposed to fight in April against Nicolas Polanco (23-8-1, 13 KOs) to headline a BLK Prime show but pulled out of the contest hours before through illness.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring's lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.