YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul signs "next big star," boxer Ashton Sylve, to Most Valuable Promotions

Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-prizefighter, has already made a major splash in boxing inside the ring. But he continues to make waves out of it as well.

Paul's Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) added a new member to its fighter roster Monday, signing top boxing prospect Ashton Sylve to a deal, Paul and his business partner Nakisa Bidarian of Bavafa Sports told ESPN.

Sylve, from Long Beach, California, is just 18 years old and is already 7-0 with seven knockouts as a pro, fighting at 126 pounds. He has been training in boxing since age 6 under his father Ivan.

Bidarian said Sylve is already the fourth-most followed boxer in his weight class on social media and understands «branding himself,» which, combined with his sizeable potential, was a factor in their agreement.

«He kind of checks a lot of boxes that you would want in terms of the next big star in boxing,» Bidarian said. «And just spending time with him and his family, it was clear that there was a natural affinity to each other.»

Along with Paul, MVP boasts top women's boxerAmanda Serrano, whom the company signed last September. Paul and MVP were heavily involved in putting together Serrano's fight with Katie Taylor on April 30, the first-ever women's combat sports main event at New York's Madison Square Garden.

«When I came into the sport, I wanted to do two things: really push women's boxing forward and signing Amanda Serrano,» Paul said. «And we wanted to help with young prospects and really help and be crucial in creating the next big thing in the sport of boxing.

»We believe Ashton has that talent, that flashiness, that style, that knockout power, that charisma to really be a massive, massive superstar and one of the next highest-paid boxers in the game in a