Eddie Hearn is taking legal action against Jake Paul.
The Matchroom Boxing CEO has filed a lawsuit for defamation, as they claim reputational damage from a recent interview where Paul accused Hearn of paying off judges. This is according to TMZ, who reported the news on Friday.
Paul, who gained a massive following on YouTube, has been involved in boxing for the last few years – working as both a professional fighter and a promoter through Most Valuable Promotions.
Back in April, Paul worked together with Hearn to put on Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano – one of the biggest women’s boxing matches in history. Paul promoted Serrano under MVP and Hearn promoted Taylor through Matchroom Boxing.
In a very competitive contest, Taylor was awarded a split decision win over Serrano. Judge Glenn Feldman, who had the widest scorecard of the three judges overseeing the contest, scored the fight 97-93, Taylor.
Then a few months later, Feldman was again criticized online as he favored Matchroom Boxing’s Anthony Joshua in a 115-113 scorecard to beat Oleksandr Usyk in their heavyweight championship rematch. The two other judges saw it for Usyk, awarding him a split-decision win.
Paul wasn’t happy to see Feldman’s scoring in both fights and claimed foul play between Hearn and Feldman earlier this month in an interview with IFL TV – which is now unavailable and put on private on YouTube.
“Glenn Feldman, shows up in Saudi and scores Anthony Joshua to win the fight,” Paul said. “Everyone watched the fight, it’s not a split decision. Usyk had a runaway victory, clearly won the fight. This judge, Glenn Feldman, gives it to Anthony Joshua? It’s like a repeated crime here. This type of sh*t, I’m going to call it out here in boxing because it’s bullsh*t.
“Clearly, this guy is getting paid money by Matchroom Boxing. That’s a bold statement and an accusation that I don’t take lightly, but it’s just blatantly obvious. You would think they would bring a different judge that f*cked up the scoring of Taylor-Serrano to Saudi Arabia.”