By: Sean Crose
It seems that Jake Paul’s next opponent will be none other than Matchroom honcho Eddie Hearn. No, Paul’s scheduled showdown with legendary UFC star turned pro Anderson Silva is not in jeopardy. The match against Hearn will go down in the procedural world rather than the professional boxing world. However, large sums of money are still at stake as Hearn is suing Paul for a sizable sum of one hundred million dollars. That’s one hundred million. The defamation lawsuit, filed in New York on Friday, claims Paul falsely accused Matchroom boxing for paying judge Glenn Feldman to rule on matches as they wished.
“Both legally and ethically, there is a fine line separating opinion from defamatory lies,” said Frank Salzano, who represents Matchroom (via TMZ). “Jake Paul knows that, and he intentionally crossed that line when he falsely accused Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn of fixing fights. However, he still has the opportunity to retract his defamatory statements and refuse. He will now face the legal consequences of his actions as Matchroom and Mr. Hearn will seek damages in excess of $100 million based on the value and goodwill associated with the Matchroom business and the harmful nature of Mr. Paul’s comments. ”
Paul feels that veteran judge Feldman’s recent rulings are a song about corruption. Feldman ruled in Katie Taylor’s favor after she battled Paul-promoted Amanda Serrano earlier this year, a ruler from which Paul made an exception. “This judge, Glenn Feldman,” Paul recently told iFL TV, “Who scored it such a big gap for Taylor, given the rounds where Amanda clearly won against Taylor.” Paul also made it clear that Feldman’s recent controversial ruling that Anthony Joshua was best for Oleksandr Usyk was a sign of bad judgment.
Paul said: “Usyk had a runaway victory, clearly won the fight. “This judge, Glenn Feldman, gave it to Anthony Joshua? It’s like a recurring crime here. This shit, I’ll call it out in boxing because it’s bullshit. Apparently, this guy is getting money thanks to Matchroom Boxing. “Hearn was not satisfied with such an accusation and now the matter is being settled by a New York court. Based on TMZ, broke the story, Hearn and the company in dispute Paul “made outrageous false and unfounded allegations.” It will be interesting to see if the matter is resolved outside of court.
