The boxing promoter’s defamation lawsuit against ‘The Problem Child’ comes one month before the American is scheduled to fight Mike Tyson in the ring
Social media and boxing star Jake Paul is facing a £100million pay-out as Eddie Hearn’s defamation lawsuit against ‘The Problem Child’ is progressing.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer saw his motion to have the case thrown out rejected by a New York judge, with the American being given an October 16 court date – according to ESPN. Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom sport, filed the lawsuit in September 2022 after an interview earlier that month where Paul accused the boxing promoter of bribing judge Glenn Feldman in connection to two fights. The bouts in question were the results of Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II and Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano.
Feldman was heavily criticised for scoring Joshua and Usyk’s 2022 rematch in the Brit’s favour and also had Taylor beating Serrano, who Paul represents, by a margin of 97-93 in their encounter four months before. Speaking during a 2022 interview with IFL TV, which has since been removed from YouTube, Paul accused Hearn of bribing the official.
Following the American’s comments, Hearn filed a lawsuit and, according to his lawyer, is seeking damages in excess of $100m. After hearing the allegations at the time, the promoter said: “We all have a laugh with Jake and he’s an average fighter but I’m telling you now, what he said is unacceptable. It will be dealt with because we take this sport, our values as a family seriously and we love the sport of boxing.
“So, for him to come out with idiotic comments without even thinking of what he said is extremely harmful to me and very disrespectful to us as a business and as a family. Jake’s comments will be dealt with appropriately. I’m not prepared, as I would be on many occasions, to take what he is saying with a pinch of salt because it’s bang out of order and totally disrespectful to the sport of boxing and to me and us. I take it extremely personally because they’re questioning our credentials, they are questioning our integrity and I won’t have it. So, he’s going to have to take the brunt of that. Maybe he doesn’t care, but I do.”
Paul’s court date will come just a month before he is due to face Mike Tyson. The pair were due to fight earlier this summer, but the boxing legend was forced to postpone his return to the ring after suffering from an inflamed ulcer. The bout is now set to take place on Friday, November 15 in Arlington, Texas at the AT&T Stadium in front of up to 90,000 fans. Tyson’s last professional outing came in 2005 when he lost to Kevin McBride. His last bout took place in an exhibition against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr behind closed doors in 2020. As for Paul, the 27-year-old defeated former UFC fighter Mike Perry back in July in his last outing.