Eddie Hearn is reportedly suing American YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul over the claims he made after the fight between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
According to the Daily Mail, Hearn and his company, Matchroom Sports are suing Paul for more than $100 million in a defamation lawsuit.
After Usyk’s split decision win over Joshua on September 20, Paul told IFL TV that Hearn paid off judge Glenn Feldman.
Advert
He said: “Glenn Feldman shows up in Saudi and scores Anthony Joshua to win the fight when everyone who watched the fight said it was not a split decision.
“This judge, Glenn Feldman, gives it to Anthony Joshua? It's like a repeated crime here... it's bulls***.
“Clearly, this guy is being paid by Matchroom Boxing and that's a bold statement and an accusation that I don't take likely, but it's just blatantly obvious. And they're not even trying to hide it.”
Now, Hearn and his company have responded.
Advert
The Englishman’s attorney, Frank Salzano told Daily Mail: “Both legally and ethically there is a clear line separating opinion from defamatory lies. Jake Paul knows that, and he purposely crossed that line when he wrongly accused Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn of fixing fights.
“Nonetheless he was still given an opportunity to retract his defamatory statements and refused to. Now he will face the legal consequences of his actions as Matchroom and Mr. Hearn will be seeking damages well in excess of $100million given the value and goodwill attached to the Matchroom business and the harmful nature of Mr. Paul's comments.”
Hearn himself spoke about Paul’s comments this week on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel.
Advert
He said: “What he said in terms of his allegations of corruption with Glen Feldman is totally unacceptable.
“We all have a laugh with Jake and he's an average fighter but I'm telling you now, what he said is unacceptable and 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.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Jake Paul, Eddie Hearn, Boxing, Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk
