Jake Paul is countersuing Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing for punitive and compensatory damages, claiming their lawsuit alleging he made defamatory statements was an intimidation tactic to suppress free speech, after they accused him of saying Matchroom bribed a boxing judge.
Jake Paul is fighting back.
The social influencer turned boxer has countered a lawsuit from Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. He’s seeking punitive and compensatory damages, plus legal fees. The paperwork was filed in the southern district of New York on Tuesday.
Hearn’s original lawsuit claims Paul made defamatory statements. Allegedly, Paul said Matchroom Boxing “bribed” Glenn Feldman, a boxing judge, to sway outcomes in two fights.
The fights involved were Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano and Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua. Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotion, represents Serrano, while Hearn represents Taylor.
In his countersuit, Paul disputes many allegations from the initial complaint. He presents his defense against these claims.
Paul argues that the original lawsuit was an intimidation tactic. He believes it aims to suppress his freedom of speech and silence other critics of the boxing industry.
Paul seeks reimbursement for attorney fees and both compensatory and punitive damages. His goal? To prevent Matchroom from using costly litigation to stifle free speech among journalists and media organizations.
In the initial interview, Paul criticized Feldman’s scorecards for both the Serrano vs. Taylor fight and Usyk vs. Joshua.
“Clearly [Glenn Feldman] is getting paid money by Matchroom Boxing,” Paul remarked. He accused them of blatantly obvious actions without any attempt to conceal it.
Hearn and Matchroom filed their lawsuit with Feldman as a co-plaintiff.
Previously, Paul tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, but his motion was denied. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for Oct. 16.
Now, Paul is countersuing and requesting the original lawsuit be dismissed without prejudice.