"Athlon"
Athlon comes from the Ancient Greek ἆθλον (athlon), meaning "(sport) contest", or "prize of a contest", or "place of a contest; arena". Athlon Entertainment is the true evolution of the combat “sports” world. It’s Athlon’s goal to brand its style of combat as “Sweet Violence or Cus D’amato’s famous phrase: “Bad Intentions” as opposed to “Sweet Science.” Athlon promotes events that have a closer resemblance to the entertainment of a major concert rather than a traditional boxing event. Join us for the “Athlon” experience!
ABOUT
Joe Kelly
Joe Kelly has been promoting boxing and mixed martial arts events since the age of 24. A promoter with over 20 years experience, Mr. Kelly has promoted televised events for Showtime, HBO, ESPN, Fox Sports Net, CBS Sports Network, AXS TV, HDNet, Triller Fight Club, and FITE TV. Kelly’s accolades include being the youngest promoter to promote a show with ESPN and SHOWTIME. Kelly was also the first promoter to promote an International Show for ESPN as he took ESPN Wednesday Night Fights to Nassau, Bahamas.
Joe Kelly also managed the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City for four years for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, a 3,500 seat arena and event space that holds all types of entertainment, meetings, and special events each year.
Joe Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Drake University in Political Science and a Minor in World History. After completing college Kelly went on to get two Master’s in Business Administration Degrees in Entrepreneurship and General Management from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His work-related experience beyond his own endeavors includes serving as a Vice President/General Manager of Ringside/Combat Sports, Vice President of Live Events for M-1 Global, Executive Vice President of Operations for Bellator MMA, and Executive Consultant for the World Series of Fighting. Joe Kelly is widely considered one of the best known and most experienced executives in the combative sports universe and has promoted over 300 televised combative sports events worldwide.
Joe Kelly also owned and operated ProteinHouse KC a healthy restaurant concept with multiple locations in Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa. Upon becoming a partner in the brand, he took his knowledge of health and fitness and created all meal prep, catering, and daily special designs and pricing for the entire corporate structure of the Protein House global corporate brand. Kelly also used his expertise as a sports agent and promoter to become the athlete food provider for Sporting Kansas City, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, and KC NWSL.
Doug Ward
Doug Ward’s journey in boxing began in 1980 with an amateur career that set the foundation for more than four decades in the sport. Since then, he’s worked in almost every corner of the boxing world — twenty-one years in the gym as a trainer, sixteen as a fight manager, twenty-five in the equipment industry, and more than ten years promoting both amateur tournaments and professional events. Through it all, Doug has remained a passionate advocate for the sport and its athletes. His deep involvement across every level of boxing has given him a rare, 360-degree understanding of the game — from the ring to the business side and everything in between. Athlon Business Plan Confidential and Proprietary 25 | P a g e Whether across a boardroom table or in the opposing corner, Doug has earned a reputation for always putting FIGHTERS FIRST — because he WAS A FIGHTER FIRST. And when the final bell rings, that’s what it should always be about.
Amber Ashworth
Amber Ashworth is a brand and marketing strategist who will handle the growth of all of Athlon’s professional brands and human-to-human interaction through the company’s social media, content, and podcast platforms. After spending over a decade working and owning a successful clothing brand and e-commerce platform Amber diversified and transitioned her numerous skills to the sports entertainment and health and wellness industries. In sports entertainment Amber structured all marketing efforts for the brand and coordinated all live event setup and teardown at each of the companies globally televised events. In health and fitness as a co-owner of the ProteinHouse restaurant concept, she managed the companies brand relationship with Sporting Kansas City, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, and KC NWSL. Amber knows what truly drives conversions, subscription retail, affiliate sales, and creating lifelong patronage—and it’s not mastering the marketing flavor of the week. It’s how well you connect with the heart-beating people you’re trying to help and communicate your understanding back to them. Amber holds a BS in Education from the Avila University. Amber is a lifelong proponent of health and wellness and avid alternative medicine advocate and studied yoga through the Siddhi International School of Yoga in India.
